


My Riddle to Solve

by citrusdarling7



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Arranged Marriage, Dark Magic, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Forbidden Forest, Magic, Malfoy Manor (Harry Potter), Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Original Character(s), Possessive Tom Riddle, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter), Pureblood Politics (Harry Potter), Pureblood Society (Harry Potter), Shameless Smut, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Teenage Tom Riddle, Top Tom Riddle, War with Grindelwald, Young Tom Riddle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:42:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 57,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29547432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrusdarling7/pseuds/citrusdarling7
Summary: Ophelia Sterling is a 16-year old girl who just wants to enjoy being a teenager. Unfortunately for her, her parents have other plans. After learning that she is to be married off on to Tom Riddle, she is furious with the universe and decides to take matters into her own hands. But with Ophelia's luck, she just can't seem to avoid her soon-to-be husband.
Relationships: Tom Riddle/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	1. intro

rating/warnings- This story is for mature audiences. There will be violence, dark topics, toxic relationships, bad language, and eventual smut. Underaged characters will drink alcohol, smoke, and consume various drugs. Tom Riddle is an incredibly complex character. He's not a great person, and I don't plan on softening him up just for the sake of romance. Expect toxic traits from him.

notes- 

•I initially got the idea of an arranged marriage plot from Tumblr, however I don't believe I can properly credit the original author , as I've seen it posted all over the internet under many various usernames :(  
• most characters unfortunately are not original ones, and belong to JK Rowling


	2. one

As soon as I woke, I could tell that today was going to be another boring day. I could see the sun shining through my bedroom window, yet it didn't fill me with any type of excitement or joy. It was the 25th of August, a week before I would return to school. Honestly, I had grown sick of the Summer Holiday. My father and I argued nearly every day, my little sister constantly got on my nerves, and I hadn't heard from any of my friends in quite some time. I missed Hogwarts dreadfully, and I couldn't wait to be back. I had gotten my O.W.L results last week, and as expected, I had done well. Mostly 'Exceeds Expectations,' but I did manage to scrape an 'Outstanding' in Astronomy. Since I would be taking mostly N.E.W.T level classes this year, I had already been to Diagon Alley to buy all of my new books. Most of them had already been neatly packed away in my school trunk. It was incredibly obvious that I couldn't wait to leave the Manor. 

After forcing myself out of bed, I took a quick shower and dressed hastily. I reached for my wand on my bedside table and tucked it away into my sleeve. Although I wasn't technically allowed to do magic outside of school, my parents didn't care much. My father had mentioned many times that that particular rule only applied to Muggle-Borns, at least in his opinion. I slipped out of my bedroom and made my way downstairs to the dining room. The twins were already seated, shoving spoonfuls of porridge into their mouths. My parents were nowhere to be seen, but I didn't mind much. 

"Phelia, is it true that there's Trolls at Hogwarts? Sage told me that there's at least a hundred and that they eat students who are late to class," my little brother asked me nervously. I shot an amused look at Sage. 

"No Aspen, that's not true. Don't listen to everything this one tells you. She's not as clever as she would have you believe," I said in a playful tone. Sage stayed silent, but let a smirk fall over her face. Aspen and Sage are twins, 10-years old and incredibly outgoing. They wouldn't start at Hogwarts until next year, but that didn't stop the two of them from constantly reading through my old textbooks and trying to brew potions in a bathroom sink. Although I loved both of them whole-heartedly, they could be pretty annoying at times. One of our house elves, Tippy, had just brought me a steaming mug of coffee. I gave her a quick nod of thanks before turning my attention back to the twins. 

"What do you two have planned for today?" I asked as I took a sip of my drink. Tippy had remembered the milk and sugar, which made me smile. 

"Loads. Aspen and I have decided to take up frog-catching again. And we're pretty sure we found a hidden underground tunnel by that blue Muggle house up the street," Sage told me excitedly. I chuckled as I listened to her explain this theory in an animated voice. Tippy returned a few minutes later with some toast, so I helped myself to a few pieces after slaughtering them in jam. 

“Oh, you're finally awake. Good," I heard my mother's voice echo from behind me. I quickly swallowed the food that I had in my mouth. 

"Hello Mother. Did you need something?" I could see Aspen redirect his gaze to mine as Sage stopped fiddling with her spoon. Just by the tone of her voice, we all knew she meant business. 

"Yes. I need to have a word with all of you. Tonight we will be having guests over for Dinner, and I expect all of you to be on your best behavior. That means no practical jokes from you two, (she gestured to the now-giggling twins) and please try to avoid arguments with your Father tonight. This evening is of the utmost importance for us," she explained. 

"Who's the guests?" asked Sage. She was obviously curious, as she loved to socialize with pretty much everyone. 

"The Gaunts," my Mother replied briskly as she walked away. I saw my siblings glance at each other before looking towards me for an explanation. I bit my lip, trying to remember who the Gaunt family was. Most of us pure-blood families knew each other in some way, and I was sure I had heard that name before. But I couldn't quite put my finger on who they were, and how we knew them. 

"I'm not exactly sure. It's probably just a family that Father knows through work," I told them with a shrug. They both nodded, accepting my answer. I paid little thought to this conversation as I carried on with my day. Dinner parties were not a new thing for us, as we either hosted or attended one at least every-other week. 

The rest of the day was a lazy one, mostly spent reading on my bed and finishing up some of my summer homework. At around 6 pm, I heard a knock on my door. 

"Missus? It is Tippy, and I am needing to speak to you," I heard a squeaky voice say. I quickly got up to open the door. "Sorry to disturb you Missus Ophelia, but Mistress has told me you need to be dressed in your very finest tonight. She is wanting to make a good impression on the guests," Tippy informed me. I assured Tippy that I would meet my mother's standards before sending her off. I was a bit confused why I needed to dress up. I figured that maybe my father had a business negotiation of some sort with the Gaunts, and he wanted us to look expensive. 

I figured that following this instruction wouldn't be too difficult, so I settled on a pretty champagne-pink dress paired with silver flats. I used my wand to add some curls to my dark hair as I applied my mauve-toned lipstick. I debated on taking off my locket, wondering if it looked tacky. But I kept it on, deciding that the small diamond encrusted oval wouldn't hurt anyone. 

At a quarter till 7, I made my way down to the fancy dining room. Our satin tablecloth had been laid out and topped with our most expensive silverware. A house elf called Binky was rushing around so frantically that he almost knocked me over. I heard my father call out my name from the sitting room, so I headed in that direction. He was sitting on one of the leather chairs, wearing his most expensive and flashy dress robes. Aspen was also in dress robes, and he looked quite furious about this. My father studied me for a few seconds before nodding in approval. 

"You look presentable I suppose," he said in a half-hearted tone. I didn't respond, and instead turned my attention to my sister. 

"Sage, you look beautiful! Purple is such a pretty color on you!" And I was right, she did look amazing. She had been forced into a puffy violet dress and her hair had been pulled up onto her head in tight curls. I knew that Sage didn't like dresses much, but she was used to them. Pure-blood children grew up fast. From a young age, we were taught decorum and etiquette, along with some questionable values. Sage was beaming, delighted by my compliment. However, before she had a chance to respond, the doorbell rang. My parents stood up instantly as Mother hissed for one of the elves to get the door. 

"Aspen and Sage, go sit at the table. Ophelia, come with us to greet the guests," my father demanded. Aspen stuck out his tongue at me in a teasing way as he disappeared into the other room, hand-in-hand with Sage. My mother suddenly grabbed me and started trying to rearrange my hair. Confused, I pushed her off of me. 

"Mother, what's wrong?" I asked as we rushed to the door. She shook her head and pressed a finger to her lips as Tippy pulled open the door with a deep bow. My first thought was that whoever these people were, they clearly weren't trying to impress us. The first man that entered our house was old and balding. His robes were dirty and smelled of mildew. He looked as if he hadn't bathed in months. 

"Marvolo! Welcome, welcome!" My father said as he reached to shake his hand. The man, (who I now knew was called Marvolo) accepted the gesture and flashed a sickening smile which allowed me to see his yellowing teeth. He turned to me, and made no movement to shake my hand, which I was quite relieved about. 

"So this is your daughter, eh William?" he said in a raspy voice. My father put his hand on my shoulder for a brief second as he nodded. I didn't say anything, as I thought it was pretty obvious I was his daughter. 

"She sure is. Our pride and joy. My wife Diane will show you to the dining room now if you'd like," he said as he gestured towards Mother. I had to bite my lip to hold back a laugh. My father had never once referred to me as his 'pride and joy' before. As they walked away, I could hear her starting to brag about how the vase he had just passed was over a thousand years old. The next man that walked in was even more repulsing than the first. He was younger, maybe around forty. His hair was long and shaggy, his robes torn and caked with dirt. He scoffed at Tippy and gave her a swift kick. 

"Out of my way elf!" he grunted as he lumbered off after Marvolo, without even introducing himself. I had already decided that I didn't like him before I heard him shout in our direction. 

"Get in here Tom!" And with that command, a boy of around my age walked through the door. I instantly recognized him as Tom Riddle, a Slytherin in my year at Hogwarts. 

In my 6 years of schooling, I don't think I'd ever spoken to him. I mostly kept to my small circle of friends, most of which were fellow Ravenclaws. However, I had heard his name spoken many times. Handsome and mysterious Tom was often the subject of gossip. I had heard a few horror stories about him and his friends, although I wasn't sure how true they were. I just now realized where I had heard the Gaunt name before. It was common knowledge that Tom lived with his Uncle and Grandfather, since both of his parents died when he was young. I had obviously failed to make this connection earlier, which is why I was a bit shocked to see him in my house.My father smiled brightly and shook his hand. 

"Wonderful to meet you my boy!" 

"The pleasure is all mine Sir," Tom responded in a tone that suggested he wanted to be anywhere but here. Tippy had gotten to her feet, and was now ushering our final guest into the dining room. Tom's eyes met mine for a second, as if he was wondering if I was going to shake his hand. I looked away from him and turned to my father. 

"Father, I didn't know you knew the Gaunt family," I said with an inquisitive undertone. 

"Oh yes, we've been communicating for quite some time. Now come along Ophelia, I'm sure that dinner is ready by now," he said as he locked the front door with a wave of his wand. I obeyed, and went to join everyone else. But a sinking feeling in my gut told me that today might not turn out as 'boring' as I had originally thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm super happy to say that I'm finally going to be uploading a new story! I've been playing around with this one for a few weeks, but I've decided to commit to it! You can expect updates about every 2-3 days, as I plan for some of the chapters to be pretty long.


	3. two

As I sat down in between my mother and Sage, I realized that something strange was going on. Mother was looking incredibly pale and tense, which made no sense. She was always so poised and graceful during social events, and I had never once seen her stressed by one. Marvolo had settled into the chair next to my father, and was in the middle of a rant about blood purity. 

“I’ll tell you William, pretty soon there will be none of us left! Did you hear that the Minister’s new assistant is a half-blood? For Merlin’s sake, a half-blood! At this point they might as well just let Muggles govern us,” he said with a grunt. I bit my lip to stop myself from speaking. I personally thought that there was no reason to think of Muggleborns as any less than us pure-bloods. I had many classmates who had at least one Muggle parent, and all of them were just as capable as the rest of us. In fact, my half-blooded friend Adelaide had gotten five ‘Outstandings’ on her O.W.L.S, which were much better marks than mine. 

The house-elves were now bringing out platters of food, all of them looking quite terrified. I assumed that the news of the assault on Tippy had spread amongst them quickly. Although my parents could be rude and harsh, I had never seen them physically abuse any of the elves. Sage and Aspen were being incredibly quiet, not even whispering to each other. I figured that they had been hoping the Gaunt family had included a child around their age. The twins could be a handful sometimes, but they knew how to behave themselves at galas and important dinners. I kept my mouth shut for the next few minutes as I waited for the French-onion soup to be served. The second man,(who I had heard my father address as Morfin) had already had his wine glass re-filled twice. I thought that was incredibly ill-mannered. I figured that he would most likely be drunk before dessert. 

“So you must be in Slytherin as well?” Marvolo barked. It took me a moment to realize that he was talking to me, as I had successfully zoned out of the conversation. 

“No. I’m in Ravenclaw house,” I replied with a slight smirk. My entire extended family was made up of mostly Slytherins. My cousin Corrina and I were the only ones that hadn’t been sorted into the house of Salazar in our generation. Her and I got on fairly well, she was a Gryffindor going into her 7th year. My parents always hated having to tell people I was in Ravenclaw. They thought that my sorting was some sort of an act of rebellion on my part. However, I didn’t care about their opinion much. I was happy being an Eagle. 

“Well, I suppose that’s better than Hufflepuff, innit? That lot’s mostly blood-traitors and Mudbloods, or so Tom tells me,” Marvolo said as he studied me. I clenched one of my fists under the table, a bit taken back by his use of that word. For the first time since he entered, I glanced in Tom’s direction. He had also stayed silent thus far, focusing on his soup. Unlike his family members, his clothing was wrinkle-free and clean. I knew for a fact that he was one of the Slytherin Prefects, as I had almost run into him patrolling late one night last term. Adelaide and I had a tendency to sneak out to go on late night walks, and avoiding Prefects was something that we had gotten good at. I remember she had said she wouldn’t mind if Tom had caught us out of bed, as she thought he was incredibly attractive. I had scoffed at her before performing a quick Disillusionment charm and pulling her along the corridor with me. I still had no desire to speak to Tom this evening, so I turned my attention back to my food. 

“Yes, it's quite unfortunate that Hogwarts has sunk to such a low standard. Personally, I don’t think any of that sort should be allowed in,” my father told Marvolo. The old man nodded in agreement. The conversation was steered back to the topic of the Ministry, which I was grateful for. As I let my mind wander to one of the books I had finished earlier today, I felt Sage tug on my dress from under the table. 

“Ophelia, why does Mother look sick?” she asked in a whisper. I turned to my left for a brief second to confirm Sage’s observation. Our mother looked quite green, and I could see a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. I debated what to say next, as I didn’t want to bring attention to this. It was obvious that she was stressed, but I didn’t know what about. 

“I’m not sure. Maybe the food isn’t agreeing with her,” I whispered back. Sage nodded, but I could tell my answer hadn’t comforted her. I reached down to squeeze her hand in reassurance. 

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure she’ll be fine. I heard that we’re having apple crumble for dessert.” I saw Sage grin; apple crumble was one of her favorites. She turned to speak to her brother, clearly excited. I was still a bit concerned about my mother, but my sister’s happiness was more important to me. I hated when my parents tried to bring the twins into discussions about blood-purity or politics. Even though I had also been exposed to all of it at their age, my big-sister instincts wanted to protect them from all of that. Both of my siblings were blondes, which was a bit strange since neither I nor my parents had light hair. A few years ago, Aspen had attempted to dye his hair dark with a bottle of ink, which of course, was a disaster. I smiled to myself at the thought of that particular memory. 

“Do you play Quidditch?” my brother suddenly blurted out. He was speaking to Tom, and to my surprise, Tom smiled at him. It was a bit strange that neither of my parents scolded him for speaking out of turn. 

“No, I don’t. However, I do consider myself quite a good flier,” he told Aspen as he cut into his chicken. Aspen was delighted by this response. 

“I want a broomstick for my birthday! I’m going to be a Chaser when I grow up, so I need all the practice I can get. Stupid Ophelia doesn’t even own one,” he explained. I cast a stern glance in my brother’s direction, but my mother spoke to him before I could. 

“Now Aspen, that’s not a very nice thing to say. Ophelia doesn’t own a broomstick because it’s not very lady-like. It has nothing to do with her intelligence Dear. Any reasonable parents wouldn’t allow their daughter to play such a sport,” she said. I saw Sage’s smile vanish; I knew she also had hopes of being a Quidditch player one day. I decided that this time, talking back to my mother would be worth it. 

“Don’t listen to her Sage. I know plenty of girls who play Quidditch, and most of them fly better than the boys. Corrina’s the seeker for the Gryffindor team, and she’s never lost a match,” I told my sister. Everyone at the table was clearly surprised by my sudden outburst against my mother, but watching Sage smile hopefully was all that mattered to me. 

“Ophelia, let’s not speak of your cousin at this moment. There are more important matters on our hands,” my father told me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tom tense up. If I had been thinking straight, I would’ve kept quiet. But I was still mad that my mother had upset Sage, so I spoke once again. 

“Important matters? What do you mean?” I snapped at my father. Morfin let out a hearty laugh. 

“You haven’t told her yet?” Marvolo asked my father. 

“Told me what?” I saw my father take a deep breath as Mother grasped her fork so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Sage and Aspen had started to whisper with each other. They both seemed just as confused as I was. 

“Ophelia Dear, you have seen the effects that integrating Muggles with our kind has had on our society. The values of the magical community are becoming more diluted with every generation. If we continue on the track that we’re on, magical families will be extinct before the turn of the century,” he explained. I scoffed, as I knew that he knew I could care less about the recent blood-purity movement amongst old wizarding families. 

“Well what are you expecting me to do about this? I’m not the Minister of Magic,” I snapped at him. My mother reached over in an attempt to hold my hand, but I pushed her arm away. She was acting just as strange as Father was. 

“The house of Sterling has been around for centuries, and we value the fact that there has not once been a single Muggle in our family tree,” he boasted. I knew that wasn’t true. What really happened, was that anyone who married a half-blood or Muggle-born, was immediately disowned. No one had heard from my Great-Aunt Zenia since she married some Muggle movie-star years ago. 

“The same can be said for ours! Direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin himself!” Marvolo exclaimed. I was still very confused as to where this conversation was going. 

“It is our duty, as pure-blooded families, to make sure that our bloodline stays intact. As you know, many of us have decided that arranging marriages between our children is one of the best ways to assure that no Muggles contaminate the family.” I was aware of this, as my close friend Raymond had been betrothed to Sarah Yaxely last summer. Raymond wasn’t too bothered by this, as he still continued to fool around with pretty much every girl at school. But now I was aware of my father’s intentions from this conversation. 

“No. I’m not getting married to anyone. I’m sixteen years old,” I stated defensively. My father scoffed and turned to Marvolo. 

“This is why I didn’t tell her. She tends to act quite irrationally,” he explained. 

“I’m not the one who’s being irrational! And I don’t understand why they need to be here! Why can’t we have this conversation in private?” I was furious with my father. He had obviously invited the Gaunts over to show off his whole blood-purity narrative. I couldn’t care less if they were descendants of Slytherin. I turned to my mother, who had remained silent thus far. 

“You knew about this didn’t you? That’s why you’ve been so quiet all night, because you knew Father is trying to get me to marry one of his co-workers sons!” I was standing up now, and ready to storm off. My mother stood up quickly and started to plead with me. 

“Ophelia please calm down! Just sit down so we can discuss this maturely!” I didn’t listen to her, and I turned to leave the room. I was disgusted with my parents, as this was a new low for them. They constantly mentioned that I needed to start preparing for my future, but they had never brought up marriage before. I wasn’t too bothered with romantics. I had gone on a few dates throughout the years, but I’ve never had a serious boyfriend. 

“For a Ravenclaw, you’re not very smart, are you, girl?” said Marvolo’s raspy voice. I wished that I hadn’t left my wand upstairs, as the urge to curse these men was growing stronger. I turned around to face him. 

“This doesn’t involve you!” I snapped at him. Both of my siblings were looking at me, nervous and confused. Aspen looked as if he was going to cry. I knew that he hated when people yelled. Sage was staring down Tom, which I thought was a bit strange. Both Morfin and Marvolo started to laugh. 

“That’s where you’re wrong dearie. Your daddy has made an agreement with me. You are to marry my grandson Tom. Let’s hope that this irrational defiance from you is just some female phase, and not a serious genetic flaw,” he said with a disgusting grin. I acted quickly, and snanched my mother’s wand from her sleeve in a mere second. Unfortunately for me, Marvolo and Morfin weren’t as dumb as they looked. They had also drawn their wands, and both of them were pointed at me. My mother was shaking and crying, pleading for me to stop. 

“Come on girly. Hit us with the best you’ve got,” Morfin snarled at me. He was salivating at the mouth, and looked like a rabid animal. It was obvious that he would love a fight. Aspen looked absolutely terrified, and I couldn’t blame him. 

“That is enough! I won’t have wands drawn in my house! Put them away, all of you!” my father roared. He was convincing enough, and I reluctantly tossed my mother’s blackthorn wand to the ground as the Gaunt’s lowered their’s. I was fuming, shaking in my stance. I was not going to be married off like some type of farm animal. 

“Marvolo, Morfin, Diane. I need a word with all of you. Let’s go to the sitting room,” my father commanded. All of the adults got up and followed him, Mother lagging behind as she had to crawl under the table to retrieve her wand. I offered her no help, as she had once again abandoned me. She always went along with everything my father said, and it was infuriating. 

Completely ignoring Tom, who had stayed stony-faced and silent through all of this, I turned to my siblings. 

“Go upstairs, both of you. You don’t need to be involved in this,” I told them gently. Aspen quickly jumped out of his chair and hurried away, but Sage lingered for a moment. She looked up at me with sympathetic eyes. 

“You should have hexed him,” she whispered. I heard Tom scoff, which earned him a glare from my sister. 

“If I was holding my own wand I wouldn’t have hesitated,” I assured her with a small smile. She gave Tom another mean look before giving me a quick hug and clambering off to join her brother. I knew that neither of them would go to bed, but I just wanted them out of the fire pit. After a moment of awkward silence, I looked up at Tom, and held eye contact with him for a few seconds. He raised his eyebrows expectantly. 

“Did you want to say something?” His voice was deep and sultry, but his tone made me incredibly frustrated. 

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” I snapped. He scoffed again before taking a sip of his water. 

“That’s a surprise. You seem to always have something to say.” I glowered at him as I dug my fingernails into the table. 

“You clearly don’t. Are you really just okay with all of this?” I made eye contact with him again, this time really taking in his features. I couldn’t deny that he was good-looking. His sharp jawline and high cheekbones brought out his dark eyes. He looked nothing like his family members, which made me wonder what his parents must have looked like. 

“No. I don’t enjoy the idea of having to marry you much,” he snarled. I rolled my eyes, but didn’t press the subject. I figured there were other ways to get under his skin than petty insults. 

“Is it true that you’re the Heir of Slytherin?” I asked with interest. This was one of the more drastic rumors I had heard about him, and though I doubted it’s credibility, I figured that the mere mention of it would irk him. 

“I don’t know darling, am I?” he asked sarcastically. Before I had the chance to think of something witty to say, the adults had re-entered the room. My mother was no longer crying, which was a bit refreshing. However, now she looked almost translucent. 

“So? Have you all come to the realization that this isn’t going to happen?” I asked my father. He sighed and glanced at Marvolo for confirmation. 

“Ophelia, we can’t force you into this. But if you don’t agree, then you won’t be going back to Hogwarts,” he stated. I stood up again, so that I was more level with my father. 

“What? You can’t do that?” I shouted angrily. Morfin grinned evilly. I could see his rotting teeth from where I stood. 

“Actually, I can. You need parental permission to be at school. If you refuse to give us your word, I will withdraw my permission,” he told me. 

I wanted to throw my chair at the wall. Hogwarts meant everything to me, and I sure as hell was returning this year. That must be why Tom had already accepted this fate. His Grandfather had probably already threatened pulling him out of school if he didn’t go along with the plan. 

“That’s not all. It is my duty to make sure that at least one of my children creates a union with another pure-blooded family. Either you will marry Tom, or Sage will.” At that, my mother started to cry again. I was disgusted by her, and made no movement to comfort her. I stared at my father for a few seconds. He couldn’t be serious. There was no way he would make his ten year-old daughter promise herself to someone who was nearly an adult. I glanced over at Tom, who looked even more repulsed at this idea than me. My father seemed to have read my mind, so he cleared his throat and spoke again. 

“As much as I would hate to do that, it is what will happen if you don’t comply.” I could tell that he was dead-serious. I knew what I had to do. As much as I hated it, I would not let my little sister go through this. She deserved a normal and happy childhood. I took a deep breath and glared at my father. 

“Fine. I’ll marry Tom. But not until after I finish school,” I said firmly. My education was of the utmost importance to me, and I would not let this ruin it. My father shrugged and turned to Marvolo. 

“I’m fine with that. Are you?” Marvolo grunted in agreement. 

“Alright. But I want you two to make an Unbreakable Vow,” he said, eyes darting between me and Tom. My mother spoke up finally, but in a voice quieter than a whisper. 

“They can’t do that yet. Neither of them are of age.” And she was right, that was one of the rules. An Unbreakable Vow meant nothing if the participants weren’t at least seventeen. Marvolo glared at me once again. 

“Girl! When’s your birthday?” he demanded. 

“December 20th,” I said flatly. He looked a bit relieved after I told him that. 

“Perfect. Tom comes of age on the 31st of December. You will both return home for the New Year and we’ll do the vow then. Until then, I want this agreement in writing,” he decided. My father quickly summoned a piece of parchment and quill. With a few waves of his wand a whole contract had been written out. He handed Tom the quill first. He took a few minutes to read over the contract before turning to face my father. 

“You’ve spelt my last name wrong. There’s two ‘d’s’ in Riddle,” he informed him calmly. 

“Oh, my bad. Sorry about that,” he admitted before waving his wand once more. Tom glanced at the parchment again, and satisfied, he signed his name at the bottom. His signature glowed bright gold for a moment before shimmering back into the parchment. He handed me the quill, and for a second his cold skin met mine. I looked at him, wanting confirmation to do this. I didn’t like him or trust him. But he was the only one in this situation with me. He gave me a small nod, and with that I added my signature next to his, not bothering to read over the contract. And as my name started to shine, I knew that I had just made a grave mistake.


	4. three

Word of the engagement traveled quickly, as things often do between magical families. By noon of the next day, I had already received three letters asking if the rumors were true. The first was from Adelaide, and I wrote back hastily, saying that I would explain things when we met at King’s Cross. I still didn’t have my own owl, so I had to use the family one. The second letter was from Alcott Lestrange, and I tossed it into the fire before even opening it. I knew that he was one of Riddle’s friends, so naturally I wanted nothing to do with him. Raymond had sent the third letter, in which he sympathetically told me he was sorry about the situation I had been thrown into. It seemed heartfelt, but I decided not to write back. He was a huge gossip and the last thing I needed was to give him more details, just for them to be spilled to the entire school.

I spent the remainder of the week avoiding my parents completely. I had no desire to speak with either of them, and they clearly felt the same way. Sage and Aspen were incredibly curious as to what had happened after I had ushered them out of the dining room. It would have broken my heart to have to tell Sage the real reason that I agreed to the engagement, so I made up an elaborate lie that involved werewolves and Polyjuice potion. My parents must have gone along with my story, because neither of the twins seemed to doubt it. Sage was incredibly observant, and could tell I was still a bit upset, so she gave me space. Every time my stomach twisted at the idea of being with Riddle, I reminded myself that I was doing this all to protect her.

By the time September 1st rolled around, my trunk was all packed and ready to go. I was still too young to Apparate by myself, which meant at least one of my parents would have to go with me to the station. Sage and Aspen chatted with me through the entirety of breakfast, telling me about how they expected a letter at least once a week. When my mother came down the stairs and announced that we needed to get going, I didn’t even bother to say good-bye to my father. I gave my siblings a long hug and promised I would ask Corriane to recommend the best type of broomsticks for them. I reluctantly let my mother hold onto my arm as she performed the Apparition spell. After a second of fast spinning and a blur of light, we were at the station. Like always, we were surrounded by Muggles bustling about. I hoisted up my trunk and gave one last look at my mother.

“Don’t follow me onto the platform,” I told her sternly. I was being awful to her, but I didn’t care. She had allowed my father to force me into a marriage that I wanted nothing to do with.

As I passed through the barrier successfully, I was delighted to see that Adelaide was already there. She was standing with her parents, both of whom I had met several times before. I rushed through the crowd to get to them.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Hanson! It’s so nice to see you again!” I said with a genuine smile. Mrs. Hanson pulled me in for a warm hug. I doubted that she had heard about the engagement. I knew that she had once belonged to a pure-blooded family, but I couldn’t remember which one. It was most likely that she no longer communicated with them, since she had married Mr. Hanson, who was a proud Muggle-born.

“Ophelia! It’s been ages since I’ve seen you. How have you been Dear?” 

“Good, how about you?” Mrs. Hanson started on about how she had discovered Muggle magazines this summer as Adelaide moved to embrace me. I had missed her dreadfully. Before she pulled away, she whispered into my ear.

“Don’t look now, but your fiancé just arrived.” I didn’t look behind me, but instead glowered at her. I knew that she was just trying to be helpful, but I didn’t like the word that she had used to describe Riddle. 

“Oh my, less than five minutes until the train pulls out! You two better get going,” Mrs. Hanson decided. Adelaide said good-bye to both of her parents before pulling me off towards the train. We made our way to the back and found an empty compartment; quickly storing our trunks above us before settling into the seats.

“Okay Ophelia, tell me everything. I want a play-by-play of the entire night,” Adelaide demanded. I sighed, but straightened out my skirt before launching into the story. She listened silently and intently as I explained what had happened. Once I was finished, she looked just as shocked as Aspen had been at the dinner party.

“Phelia, I’m so sorry. Merlin, this is terrible,” she said with a sympathetic face and a sigh. “Look on the bright side, at least Tom is handsome. Your father could have chosen a lot worse.” I rolled my eyes, but gave my friend a small smile. I didn’t expect her to completely understand all of this, but she was trying to be comforting in the best way she could. I quickly changed the subject, asking about her summer. By the time that the trolley witch came around, I had almost forgotten about our earlier conversation. 

“Anything off the trolly dears?” I shook my head; I had a very large breakfast earlier. Adelaide ordered a few chocolate frogs and some pemper imps, but before she had the chance to pay a male voice spoke-up.

“Don’t worry about that Adie, I’ll handle it.” The ever-so-obnoxious Julian Black was standing outside of our compartments, handing some sickles to the trolley witch. As she walked off to the next row, Julian stayed behind. Him and Adelaide had dated briefly last year. At first it was just hook-ups, but then after a while they got together officially. After about a month, things ended awfully. I was surprised that Adelaide hadn’t started screaming at Julian the second he had shown his face.

“Lovely morning, isn’t it? Excited to be heading back to Hogwarts?” I stayed silent, hoping that my friend would tell him to leave.

“What do you want Julian?” she finally asked. He scoffed and leaned against the doorway.

“I just wanted to see how you’re doing, is that a crime?” I snorted, knowing that clearly his intentions were something else. Julian flashed me a dangerous look.

“Hello Sterling. Is it true you’ve gotten yourself into an engagement with Riddle? However did you manage that?” Julian was a Slytherin in our year, and I had never liked him much. Earlier this summer I had ran into him at a gala hosted by the Malfoys, and he had been incredibly drunk. He pestered me the whole night with questions about Adelaide. Now that I looked back on it, I realized that Riddle had also been in attendance that night. I pushed that last thought out of my mind.

“Is it true you vomited all over Sarah Yaxley’s older sister when you two were snogging? However did you manage _that_?” Adelaide said with a grimace. I smirked, delighted that my best friend had my back. Julian left without saying another word. Adelaide started to unwrap one of her chocolate frogs.

“I can’t believe that you ever went out with that idiot,” I told her in amazement. She laughed and shook her head.

“Neither can I. The sex wasn’t even that good. He must’ve been sneaking me love potions or something. Speaking of love, did you see the new Beauxbatons transfer? I know you don’t normally swing that way, but she’s so pretty that even my jaw dropped.” 

“Even if I did like girls, I don’t think I’m allowed to have crushes anymore Adelaide. You know, the whole Riddle thing,” I said with a sigh. 

“Did you read the contract that they made you sign?” she asked curiously.

“No, although I probably should have. I wasn’t thinking straight,” I admitted. 

“Oh, well I wouldn’t worry too much about the specifics. Raymond’s currently getting it on with at least three different people, and he’s supposed to marry Sarah this summer. Merlin, that’s going to be a crazy wedding. Do you want to play Exploding Snap?” 

The trip to Hogwarts was always a long one, but I hadn’t seen my friend in weeks so we had plenty to talk about. By the late afternoon, both of us were exhausted from the constant fits of giggles, and we had fallen asleep next to each other. I was awoken suddenly by a knock on our compartment door. I forced myself off of Adelaide’s shoulder and into a sitting position.

“Yeah, come in!” I called. My friend had also woken up, and she looked ready to kill whoever had just disturbed her nap. The door slid open and we were greeted by Corrina. I jumped up and threw myself into her arms. Out of all my cousins and extended family members, she was one of the few that I was close with. She was already in her Hogwarts robes and smelled like expensive flowers. 

“Corrina, just come in already. And shut the door behind you, I don’t want Julian coming back,” demanded Adelaide. She got on quite well with my cousin. In fact, Corrina often snuck into our common room just to talk to Adelaide. Corrina was a Gryffindor Prefect, which meant she knew how to avoid trouble. She stepped into our compartment and took the seat across from mine.

“Sorry that it took me so long to find you. I’ve been searching for ages; you weren't sitting towards the front like you normally do,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, I did that on purpose. Wanted to avoid attention,” I admitted. Corrina reached for my hand and squeezed it empathetically. 

“I figured. Honestly Ophelia, I don’t know where this all came from. Last time your father came over to talk with mine, they didn’t mention the word ‘marriage’ even once. But keep your head up, they can’t have had you make an Unbreakable Vow. You’ll find a way to get out of this,” she assured me. Personally, I couldn’t see anyway out of this situation, but I wanted to remain hopeful. I was sick of having to talk about Riddle.

“Cora, I just remembered that you're a Prefect,” Adelaide suddenly declared. “Didn’t you just come from the Prefect’s compartment?” 

“Yeah, I did. Why do you ask?” By now, I knew exactly what information my friend was after. She looked at me for confirmation to press on. I shook my head, but she ignored me.

“Riddle. He’s also a Prefect. You were sitting with him for the past hour or so. Did he mention Ophelia at all?” Honestly, I didn’t care much about Riddle’s opinion on me. I didn’t want to have to think about him at all, and this conversation was forcing me to.

“No, he didn’t. He barely spoke at all, but that’s the usual for him. He doesn’t like having to talk to anyone that isn’t in Slytherin. So before you ask, no Adelaide, I can’t try to befriend him. I’m a Gryffindor, he thinks I’m scum.” Adelaide let out a huff, as Corrina was right. She had been hoping that my cousin would be able to infiltrate Riddle’s friend group. 

“Well, maybe I can get back with Julian. He never knows when to shut up, he’d spill all sorts of secrets. But then again, I really can’t stand him. I did make-out with Alcott Lestrange last year after the Quidditch final. It was only to make Julian upset, but Lestrange seemed really into it. I’ll try talking to him sometime.” 

“Adelaide, I really don’t want you to-”

“My parents are making me take N.E.W.T level Herbology this year. I’ll bet that there will be some Slytherins in that class. I could sneak Veritaserum into one of their drinks,” Corrina added. I stood up abruptly, irritated with this conversation.

“Neither of you seem to understand that I don’t want to hear about Riddle! I don’t want either of you to go out of your way to find out his favorite color or childhood pet. I just want this to be a normal year, and you two trying to turn this into some type of spy-mission isn’t making me feel any better!” 

I stormed out of the compartment, not waiting to hear their responses. The trouble with the Hogwarts express, was that you never knew who was sitting where. I decided to go look for Raymond; he would understand how I was feeling. I figured that he was probably up towards the front, so I started to walk in that direction. 

Suddenly, someone stepped out of their compartment quickly, and slammed into me before I had the chance to duck away. I was shoved to the ground by an all-too-familiar face.

Abraxas Malfoy. I instantly knew it was him, as his snow-blonde hair was unmistakable. I had known him for years, since we both came from wealthy pure-blooded families. I actually didn’t mind his presence too much at parties and galas. He was funny and always talked to my little siblings kindly. In the summer before our 5th year, we had snuck away from the Yaxley manor and gone into the Muggle town nearby. Both of us had been a bit intoxicated, and we ended the night running from the Muggle police men. We didn’t talk much at school, although we had been partners in Arithmancy last year. I heard snickers coming from his compartment as he reached down to offer me assistance.

“Sorry about that Ophelia, I didn’t see you,” he said uneasily. I used his outstretched hand to hoist myself up off the ground. For a second, I debated giving him a hug. I decided that we weren’t close enough for that. Instead, I just smiled at him awkwardly. 

“Don’t worry about it,” I assured him. I could smell that he was still wearing that ridiculously strong mint-cologne that he had been addicted to for years. 

“What are you doing out here? We’re going to be at school soon,” he reminded me. I could hear a whisper from behind him, followed by a shushing noise. 

“I got tired of listening to Corrina and Adelaide. I’m looking for Raymond, by any chance do you know where he is?” I asked. Abraxas shook his head.

“No clue. Er, you could sit with me if you like,” he offered. I figured that this would be a decent solution to my current problem. As I stepped forward, I caught a glance inside the compartment he had come from. I immediately changed my mind when I realized who else was inside. Lestrange, Rowle, and Riddle. The first two boys looked up at me expectantly. Riddle however, was focused on a large book that he was reading. He glanced up for only a fraction of a second.

“Hello darling. Did you need something?” he asked in a bored tone. I was incredibly taken aback by this, as I had not expected him to speak to me. I also didn’t like that he had called me ‘darling.’ I decided that saying nothing to him would probably be my best move.

“Never mind. I’ll see you at school,” I told Abraxas. Before I had the chance to walk away, Lestrange shouted at me.

“Hey Sterling! Did you get my letter?” He was grinning at me, and Rowle was laughing. Mustering up a bit of confidence, I glared at him.

“I did. I tossed it straight into the fireplace,” I said flatly before walking off. I heard a deep voice let out a small chuckle, a voice that I recognized as Riddle’s.

I decided that I wasn’t upset with Abraxas. He seemed genuine when he invited me to join him, and he had probably just forgotten about the whole situation with Riddle. I was more upset with Riddle. I couldn’t believe he had addressed me. Did he want to put up some sort of charade, as if we were a real couple? Well he could forget about that, because I planned on telling everyone the truth behind our situation. I bit my lip and headed back to my original seat. When I pushed open the sliding door, Corrina and Adelaide instantly stopped speaking. I didn’t say a word to them as I dug through my trunk and pulled out my school robes. I pulled out one of my textbooks and mindlessly flipped through it. None of us spoke, although I felt two pairs of eyes on me the rest of the trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we just talk about how boring the Hogwarts express must be? Like imagine spending 6 hours on a train with no phones or anything 😧😱


	5. four

When the train pulled into the Hogsmeade station; it was already growing dark outside. As I grabbed my trunk and prepared to get off the train, Adelaide grabbed my arm. 

“Listen Ophelia. Cora and I are sorry about earlier. We were just trying to help, but you’re right. From now on, we won’t mention Riddle,” she assured me. Corrina nodded in agreement as I smiled at both of them. 

“Alright, thank you. I’m sorry for storming off,” I admitted. They both told me not to worry about it as we pushed our way off of the crowded train. Taking in the sight of the magnificent castle made my heart beat with excitement. Hogwarts had always been a sort of second home to me, and I was thrilled to be back. I heard Ogg the Gamekeeper shouting for the first-years to settle down as a group of Hufflepuff girls pushed past us. A girl with pale blonde hair gave me a dirty look. I ignored her, figuring that I had probably just stepped on her shoe by accident. As always, we left our trunks at the entrance and made our way into the Great Hall. Adelaide and I said goodbye to Corrina and headed over to the Ravenclaw table. I sat down next to Raymond, and as soon as he noticed my presence he pulled me into a hug. 

Raymond Prewett and I had been close friends since our first year at Hogwarts. He was probably the most intelligent of my friends, and I knew for a fact he had received 7 ‘Outstanding’ marks on his O.W.L.S last year. However, he could be incredibly clumsy sometimes. Still in his tight embrace, I looked over his shoulder for a moment and unfortunately made eye contact with Riddle. Him and his friends had just walked into the hall; all of them but him were acting quite rambunctious. I didn’t want him to think I was afraid of him, so I held our gaze. Raymond gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and I looked away from Riddle at last, eager to address my friend. 

“Merlin, I haven’t seen you since the Malfoy gala,” I exclaimed. He laughed and gave me a devilish grin. 

“Yes yes, that was a crazy night.” I giggled to myself, remembering what had happened. My parents had been absolutely livid when me and my friend had been discovered on the rooftop of the Malfoy Manor. Raymond suddenly reached for my left hand and flipped it over to examine it. I knew that he was obviously looking for the non-existent engagement-ring. Sarah now wore one, but that had happened after weeks of her begging Raymond to buy her one. 

“Nope. No ring. And I’m quite glad about the fact. Have you seen Joslyn?” After a few seconds of studying my expression, he realized how little I desired to talk about the Riddle situation. Joslyn suddenly appeared behind me in perfect timing. I gave her a quick hug and complimented her new haircut before she sat down on Adelaide’s right side. Within a few minutes, most of the student body had been seated and were talking happily about which classes they planned on taking this term. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned around to see Julian standing behind me. 

“Go away. Adelaide doesn’t want to talk to you,” I hissed at him. Raymond had also turned around to stare at Julian. 

“I’m not here for her. I need to speak to you.” I shot a glance at my friend, but he also didn’t have a clue what was happening. He leaned a little closer to me in a protective way. One of his hands rested on my leg, but I didn’t think anything of it. My friends and I were always very affectionate with each other. 

“What do you want Black? We’re in the middle of something,” Raymond snapped at him. Julian smirked and looked over his shoulder for a second. 

“You two seem awfully close. Sterling, do I need to inform Riddle on this relationship between you and Prewett?” By now, Julian had caught the attention of most of our table, except Adelaide, who was flirting with some 7th year who’s name I couldn’t remember. 

“Mind your own business Julian. Say what you need to say to me and leave,” I snapped at him. I wanted to slap the smug grin off of his face. I could hear some people around us whispering. The mention of Riddle’s name had set everyone off. Even before the recent situation, Riddle was always a huge subject of gossip. Julian pulled an envelope out of his pocket and held it out towards me. 

“I meant to give this to you earlier, but Adie seemed to want me to leave. It’s from your father,” he told me. I knew that Julian’s father worked with mine, so the idea of him being used as a messenger wasn’t too far fetched. I sntached the envelope out of his hand and tucked it into my robe. I turned back to face the table as Raymond told Julian to go back to the Slytherin table. 

“That prick. I can’t wait to beat him in the next Quidditch game. So are you going to open the letter?” Raymond muttered. Before I could respond, Headmaster Dippet silenced everyone. It was time for the Sorting. Like always, a line of terrified 11-year olds were marched up front to be sorted into their houses. 

We got quite a few new Ravenclaw students this year, which I suppose was nice. The feast was delicious as usual, but for some reason I wasn’t that hungry. I was extremely curious as to what my father had written to me. There was no way that I could open it in front of everyone, yet my mind was racing through all the possible scenarios I could muster up. After about thirty minutes of listening to Raymond tell the table about his crazy summer adventures, I couldn’t wait any longer. 

“Adelaide, I think I’m going to head to the common room now,” I told my friend. She wasn’t paying much attention to me, so she just nodded and gave a thumbs-up. 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Raymond offered. It would have been nice for him to come along, but he still had a full plate of food in front of him. 

“No, I’ll be alright.“ The walk to the Ravenclaw common room was a long one, seeing as it was located on the 5th floor. I passed at least ten different ghosts on my way. When I had first started at Hogwarts, the mere idea of ghosts terrified me. The idea of having to live forever in such a fragile state seemed quite depressing. Over the years I had gotten used to their gloomy presence. I quickly ascended up the spiral staircase, eager to get back to my dorm. The bronze eagle spoke to me in it’s musical voice. 

“ _I can’t be bought, but I am stolen with a glance. I’m worthless to one, but priceless to two. What am I?_ ” One of the annoyances that came with being in the house of Ravenclaw, was the riddles required to enter the common room. It took me longer than usual to think this one through, and I was incredibly upset once I had. 

“Love,” I mumbled to the eagle. The door slowly creaked open, confirming that my answer had been correct. I was delighted to see that the room looked exactly the same as the last time I had been inside of it. Throughout my years at Hogwarts, I’ve been to every common room at least once. There was no debate; Ravenclaw’s was the best. The dome shaped ceiling allowed the stars to shine through sometimes, and the dark blue walls were covered in bookshelves. One of the fireplaces had already been lit, meaning that there was a soft crackling noise filling the circular room. I made my way up the left staircase and to my dorm, which was the same one that I had been living in for the past three years. I used to share with Joslyn and Adelaide before deciding that I wanted my own space. The door was unlocked, so I pushed it open and let out a great sigh of relief. My trunk had already been delivered, and my bed made. The silver key that would be required to enter my room from now on was lying on my nightstand. 

I busied myself by unpacking and re-organizing my room for the next half-hour. I wasn’t huge on interior design, but I always kept my dorm looking presentable. I hung my constellation posters up on the wall across from my bed. My favorite subject by far was Astronomy. The stars had always fascinated me. It was incredible that we could learn so much about a person just by knowing which constellations had shone the brightest when they were born. For example, Adelaide was born under an Aries sun. Aries were known to be confident, passionate, relentless, and attractive. She exhibited every last one of those traits. 

I heard excited voices in the distance, meaning that people had started to trickle into the common room. It was only a matter of time before Adelaide came bursting in to complain about how I had put lavender soap in our shared bathroom. I knew that I needed to read the letter, and I decided that I’d much rather do so alone. I quickly pulled it out of my coat and flipped it over a few times. There was nothing written on the outside, which was very strange. I bit my lip as I tore it open and unfolded the parchment. __

_My daughter Ophelia, I know that you have no desire to communicate with me. I also know that you will eventually come around. Tom is a smart young man with much potential. He comes from a powerful family, one that I hate to admit might have even more influence than ours. You have always been a bit rebellious, and you don’t always choose your friends wisely. This year at Hogwarts, you need to be careful. People are going to be out to get you. You must align yourself with the right types of people. Although you may not think so, I do love and value you._

_P.s- I have written to Tom as well. I am hoping that if you don’t choose to heed my word, maybe he will_

_Love, Your concerned Father._

I read over my father’s words multiple times. His letter had not brought me any comfort. It only made me more upset. I couldn’t tell if he was insinuating to ditch all of my Muggle-born friends, or if he truly thought I was in danger. I didn’t know much about Riddle, but I did know that he was admired by many girls. Would they be vying for my blood over the fact that our families were forcing us to wed? 

If my father had sent Riddle a similar letter, I suppose that would explain why he addressed me on the train. He must have just been trying to be polite. I decided that I would need to find the courage to speak with him tomorrow as I tucked the letter in between a few of my favorite books. I headed out of my room and down to the common room. Most of my friends were sitting around a large glass table; someone had placed multiple large bottles of Firewhisky in the middle, along with a few glasses. 

“First night back and we’re already drinking?” I asked with a laugh. Terrance Sanderson, who was a Muggle-born boy in my year greeted me and pulled up a chair for me to sit in. 

“We’re Ravenclaws Ophelia, when do we ever go a night without drinking?” Raymond joked. He was right in a way. Muggle drugs were probably consumed by us more than any other houses. Normally they were used as study-enhancers, rather than to get a high. 

“Is everyone up for a game up Drink-or-Dare?” asked Adelaide. Everyone started to cheer loudly. As much as I would have loved to join in, the last thing I needed was a hangover tomorrow morning. I grabbed a book of one of the shelves and sat off to the side, observing everyone from a distance. I tried to immerse myself into the story, but a certain dark-haired Slytherin was constantly on the back of my mind. 

By the time that Professor Babbling, (head of Ravenclaw house) came around to greet the new first years, the Firewhisky was long gone. Adelaide and I had to practically carry Cindy Shacklebolt up to her dorm room; the poor girl was so intoxicated that she didn’t even know her own name. Adelaide decided that it was too late to deal with this, and hit Cindy with a Sleeping Charm. 

“It should wear off by morning, and hopefully she’ll have sobered up by then,” she said as we shut Cindy’s bedroom door. I decided that I needed to tell my inner-circle about my new position on Riddle, and as the common room was now relatively empty, now would be the perfect time. Raymond and Joslyn were sitting by the fireplace, so Adelaide and I sat down on a couch across from them. 

“Raymond, how much did she have to drink? I need to tell you all something.” At my words, Joslyn sat up straighter and let out a yawn. 

“I’m not drunk, just tired,” she assured us. “What’s up? Is this about Tom?” Adelaide sent her a nervous glance, but I nodded my head. 

“It’s alright Adelaide. I actually need to talk about him,” I said with a sigh. All three of them were now incredibly interested in what I had to say, so they all listened intently as I explained the letter I had received from my father. 

“Again, I’m sorry for earlier Laide. I hadn’t thought things through yet,” I admitted. 

“You don’t need to apologize. Cora and I shouldn’t have been plotting things without your permission.” 

“Well, you had the right idea. I need to open up to Riddle. All of you have known me for years, so can someone explain why I feel so weird about this? I normally have no trouble talking to people,” I complained. Joslyn, who was resting her head on Raymond’s shoulder, spoke up. 

“That’s because this is a new situation. Normally, you get to choose who you talk with and why. Not this time,” she explained. 

“You know that we all care about you dearly Ophelia. We’ll help you with whatever you need,” Raymond assured me. My other two friends nodded in agreement. 

“Riddle’s always surrounded by his Slytherin followers. Next time we run into them, I’ll flirt with Lestrange or Rosier. Then you’ll have an excuse to talk to him,” Adelaide decided. Raymond grimaced and let out a laugh. 

“Really Adie, Lestrange? I thought you had better taste,” he scoffed playfully. 

“You’re just biased against him because he beat you in Quidditch. He’s very good-looking, but I know that he’s a blood-supremacist,” Joslyn added. Adelaide shrugged and flipped a lock of long hair over her shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah, Julian was like that too. They tend to get over it quite quickly once they realize what a good kisser I am.” I laughed and rolled my eyes. Adelaide suddenly reached over to squeeze my hand. 

“We’ve got your back Ophelia. Just give us the word, and we’ll do whatever it takes to fix things for you,” she assured me. I smiled; happy that I had such genuine friends.


	6. five

I was woken early the next morning by a dreadful ringing noise. Someone had brought along a Muggle-alarm clock which they had enchanted to be extra-loud. The entire Ravenclaw house was awake within minutes. 

I could hear the shower running, meaning that Adelaide had successfully beat me to the bathroom. I waited a long thirty minutes for her to be done. Neither of us were morning people, and we tended to be quite moody earlier in the day. I took a quick shower before dressing in my uniform and pulling my hair back with an extra-strong hair ribbon. I did my makeup hastily; I was starving. I made my way down to the common room to see that Adelaide was waiting for me. 

“They better have pancakes, the kind with chocolate pieces in them. I’m feeling quite murderous this morning. If the food isn’t to my liking, I might be motivated to finally finish Julian off,” Adelaide grumbled as we walked down to the Great Hall. 

“Well I won’t stop you. You’d be doing everyone a favor,” I mumbled in agreement. Fortunately for Julian, there was a large platter of pancakes at breakfast. I ate about five, along with half of Raymond’s omelette. Professor Babbling came around with our new class schedules, which I glanced over quickly as I downed my second glass of pumpkin-juice. I had Transfiguration first, followed by Defence Against the Dark Arts. After lunch was Astronomy and Ancient Runes. 

Not wanting to be late to Professor Dumledore’s class, Adelaide and I finished our breakfast quickly. Raymond was with us, which meant we had to stop multiple times so he could discuss Quidditch with a few of his teammates. When we finally made it to the Transfiguration classroom, it was already quite crowded. Since we were now in our 6th year, classes were no longer based off of house, but qualifications. 

“Ophelia! Lestrange is in this class,” Adelaide squealed excitedly. She was right; he was in this class, along with Rosier and Malfoy. Raymond rolled his eyes but stayed silent. Professor Dumbledore had just entered the room, and was now addressing the class. 

“Good morning students! I am delighted to see that so many of you have decided to continue on with your studies in Transfiguration this year. Please take a seat, and be mindful of whom you choose to sit with.” Adelaide grabbed hold of my arm and dragged me to the back of the classroom, where the Slytherin boys were. 

“Hi boys! Is it alright if we sit with you?” she asked sweetly. I gave Abraxas a small smile. 

“Of course you can Adie. I haven’t talked to you in ages,” said Evan Rosier as he pulled out a chair for Adelaide. I sat down next to Abraxas and glanced across the room to catch Raymond’s eye. He groaned, but reluctantly walked over to our table. He glared at Lestrange, (Slytherin Quidditch Captain) before taking the chair on my right. Professor Dumbledore explained that today’s class would just be review from last year, and we were to transfigure lizards into birds. We made Raymond go get the lizards from the front. 

“Sterling, I just wanted to apologize for hassling you yesterday. My mother was the one who made me send the letter. She’s absolutely obsessed with weddings, and she’s hoping to snag an invite,” Lestrange explained. I felt my face heat up at the mention of the ‘w-word’ but I kept my composure. 

“It’s alright Lestrange, I won’t hold it against you. Sorry for snapping at you on the train, I was in a bad mood.” 

“Don’t worry about it. We all know how intimidating Riddle can be. Malfoy, can I borrow a quill?” 

Our entire group was able to complete the transfiguration successfully, and within ten minutes we had five loud birds squawking about on our table. 

“Can someone please put a Silencing Charm on those?” A Hufflepuff girl complained from the front of the class. Our birds were being a lot louder than everyone else's; she was right. Adelaide muttered the spell and waved her wand as Abraxas turned to speak with me. 

“I overheard Corrina complaining about how hasn’t yet found a Seeker for her team this year? Do you think she’s bluffing?” I knew that Abraxas played Seeker for his house team, so of course he was interested. The Gryffindors and Slytherins were by far the best when it came to Quidditch. 

“I wouldn’t know. She wouldn't dare reveal any Quidditch secrets or strategies around me, she’s too afraid I’ll spill to Raymond.” I admitted, which earned me a glare from the boy on my right. 

“It should be House over blood,” Raymond mumbled under his breath. 

“If that was true, it would explain why my parents dislike me so much. Anyways, both of the twins want to play Quidditch. But Corrina will have graduated by the time that they start at Hogwarts,” I said with a laugh. 

“They’re the blonde kids who set off Dungbombs at the Rowle’s dinner party, right?” Rosier asked with a grin. The twins were well liked by pretty much everyone, as their antics always made boring events a bit more interesting. 

“Yup, that’s them. They’ll start school next year, which I suppose will be good. I can keep an eye on them for a little bit.” Raymond was now levitating a piece of parchment with his wand, trying to fold it into an origami-like bird. 

“Do you think they’ll be in Ravenclaw like you?” asked Lestrange. 

“I’m not sure. Aspen, maybe. But Sage is a bit of a spitfire, and I’m betting on Gryffindor.” 

“No, I think that they’re both going to be Slytherins. They’re always up to something mischievous, and you’re just the oddball out in your family,” said Raymond jokingly. The paper bird was now levitating a few feet above our table. He mumbled something before his fingers slipped from his wand, and the sparks it had just admitted flew towards my hand. I hissed as the fire made contact with my skin. 

“Raymond you idiot!” Adelaide shouted at him. Everyone besides her was laughing, as the paper bird had now swooped down to peck at Raymond. Abraxas reached out to grab my hand, examining it quickly. A pink mark had started to stretch over my knuckles. He pointed his wand at the mark and mumbled something that caused a cooling sensation to spread over the burn. 

“You are the world’s biggest klutz Ray,” I said with a scoff. He scrunched his face up into a mock-pout and grabbed my injured hand. 

“Sorry Ophelia. Do you want me to kiss it better?” he joked. I shrugged and pushed my hand up to his lips. He then proceeded to give my hand a sloppy lick. I giggled and pulled my arm away from him. 

“You are disgusting,” I told him between fits of laughter. He smiled and grabbed onto my chair, pulling it closer to his. We were laughing hysterically as he leaned his face close to mine, acting as if we were about to kiss. Right before his lips met mine, I knocked his chin with my forehead. I saw Lestrange whisper something to Adelaide, but I figured it was just a dirty joke and brushed it off. 

The remainder of the class was spent discussing schedules and Quidditch. Before leaving, Lestrange made Adelaide promise that she would meet up with him so they could walk to Care and Keeping of Magical Creatures together. 

“Well, that went well, didn’t it?” she asked with a large grin. I knew that Adelaide was saying that she was only flirting with Lestrange to help me, but I had known her for six years. I knew by the way that she flushed as his words that she must’ve had some sort of genuine feelings for him. 

“You know, you don’t need to sleep with the whole Slytherin house just for Ophelia to get a bit of dirt on Riddle,” Raymond snapped. 

“Please, you have just as much sex as I do, if not more. Besides, we’re not trying to get dirt on him, we just need to make it easier for Ophelia to approach him.” The two of them bickered with each other the entire way to DADA, and I tried my very best to ignore them. 

The rest of my classes were uneventful. Very few students had decided to continue on with N.E.W.T level Astronomy, which meant I could enjoy my class of only six other students. Adelaide had been let out of Care and Keeping of Magical Creatures class early, so she was waiting outside of the Ancient Runes classroom for me. 

“About time! I’ve been waiting here for fifteen minutes! What took you so long?” she asked as we started towards the common room. 

“You know how Babbling is, Terrance had gotten her on a rant about Trolls. I was surprised she remembered to check the time,” I admitted. 

“Well, I’m glad I dropped Runes. The amount of homework that we got assigned in that class was dreadful. Anyways, I have good news. Slytherin is throwing a party in their common room tomorrow night. Raymond is being a prat and refusing to go, but Joslyn will come with us.” I grinned to myself, incredibly impressed with my friend. As we turned the corner, Adelaide let out a sudden yelp. She had tripped over a statue of armour, and in response, it had dropped it’s shiny silver sword. The handle had landed on her left foot. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Stupid fucking armor!” she cursed as she started to hobble around. I instantly bent down to try and help her up. Luckily for us, Abraxas and Evan had just turned the corner as well. Both of them rushed over to us. “

What happened here? Are you alright Ophelia?” Abraxas asked me. I gestured towards Adelaide, who was still lying on the ground. 

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s her we need to worry about. Rosier, can you help me lift her?” Evan swung one of her arms around his shoulder and pulled her up as she winced in pain. 

“We need to get her up to the hospital wing. Abraxas, you support her other side, I’ll pick up her things.” Since we weren’t allowed to do magic in the corridors, I bent down to gather up the contains that had spilled out of her bag. Adelaide was still muttering curses in a strained voice. I suddenly felt a presence behind me. 

“What happened here? Are you alright darling?” 

Great, just great. Of course Riddle has to show up now, in the middle of all this chaos. 

He extended his hand to me, and I took a deep breath before taking it, letting him pull me up. I ended up a lot closer to him than I had expected to be. We were merely inches from each other, and I realized how cold his hand was. 

“Thanks. My friend tripped over that statue and I think she might have broken her foot,” I explained. Riddle spun around to look at Adelaide, who was still being supported by his friends. 

“Oh, hello Adelaide. I haven’t seen you around in quite some time.” My friend rolled her eyes and bit her lip. 

“Yeah, you haven’t bothered to acknowledge my existence since Julian and I broke up,” she mumbled. Riddle shrugged and turned back to face me. 

“I’ve been meaning to have a word with you darling, although I had hoped it would be under better circumstances. Malfoy, Rosier; take Adelaide to the hospital wing,” he said nonchalantly. 

This was the fourth time that Riddle had called me ‘darling.’ I figured that he probably called every girl that; I was no exception. He was a pure-blood after all, he was obviously raised to be chivalrous. 

“I should probably go with them,” I blurted out. As much as I wanted to talk with Riddle, I needed to make sure that my friend was okay. 

“I don’t see any reason for you to. I can assure you that Malfoy and Rosier are capable enough to handle their task alone,” Riddle told me. I studied Adealide’s face for a few moments, and she gave me a small smile. 

“Alright. I’ll come check on you before dinner. Did you want to go somewhere more private to talk?” I asked Riddle with a sigh. 

“That would be preferable. The library is close, let’s go there,” he suggested. 

We walked in silence to the library; earning a few stares from fellow students. My favorite room in Hogwarts was probably the library. I spent hours and hours rummaging amongst the shelves or staring out the panelled windows. The aura of this place had always been very calming to me. 

Once we were inside, Riddle led me to a table in the very back, one that was hidden by bookshelves. I tossed my bag and Adelaide’s onto the back of a chair, yet I chose to remain standing. Riddle did as well, both of us facing each other. He studied me for a few seconds before speaking. Now that we were alone, I could make out the strong scent of sandalwood. I figured that was his cologne of choice. 

“Do you know why I’ve brought you here?” 

“Well, it can’t be because you need help with Charms class,” I said sarcastically. He didn’t laugh, he just continued to analyze my face. 

“Your father sent me an owl a few days ago. He seems to think that my family is planning some sort of scheme against yours.” I noticed how Riddle’s fingers flexed around his wand. He wore two rings on his left hand, one was a golden serpent and the other looked to be a family crest. 

“Well, are they?” I thought for a moment that Riddle might be offended by my accusation, but he merely shrugged it off. 

“I don’t know. My grandfather is constantly plotting against everyone, so it wouldn’t surprise me if that were true. Your family is quite wealthy, but so is my grandfather. If he’s after something, it wouldn’t be money. What happened to your hand?” he had noticed the small burn that Raymond had given me during Transfiguration. 

“Oh, that was just an accident,” I explained quickly. 

“You did that to yourself?” Riddle seemed more curious than concerned, but I figured that there was no harm in telling him the truth. “

No. My friend Raymond was trying to burn up a paper bird but he dropped his wand and my hand was unfortunate enough to be lying in its way.” 

“Raymond Prewett?” I nodded. Riddle most definitely knew who Raymond was. For years, all of us pure-blooded children had been attending the same events together. The Gaunt family was no exception. 

“Do you know if your family possesses any dark artifacts?” he asked suddenly. I could see a flicker of excitement behind his dark eyes 

“If they did, I wouldn’t know. My parents don’t tell me anything,” I complained. 

“Well, you might just have to try a bit harder then,” he decided. I gave him a puzzled look. 

“What do you mean?” He turned to examine the spines of the books behind us, as if he was looking for a particular one. 

“Well unless you’d fancy having to make an Unbreakable Vow with me this New Year, we need to learn of our families’ true intentions quickly. You need to be on good terms with your parents for that to happen,” he explained. I had started to fidget with my wand without realizing that I had been. I quickly shoved my hands into the pockets of my robe. 

“Yeah, I suppose that you’re right. I’ll write to them and apologize for opposing the marriage, and promise to be a daughter that obeys their every word from now on,” I said sarcastically. Riddle had taken one of the books off the shelf and was slowly flipping through it. 

“That would be a good start. Maybe mention that you lack judgment skills,” he suggested. I scoffed at him, a bit annoyed. 

“That’s not true. How could I be a Ravenclaw if I didn’t have good judgment?” Riddle snapped the book shut before looking up at me. He raised one of his perfect eyebrows. 

“I’m not insinuating that you aren’t intelligent, darling. You just need to act as if you’re not. Most people are quite daft, and very easy to fool. Take your friend Adelaide for example. She had Black completely wrapped around her finger last year, and now she’s doing the same to Lestrange. She’s a very good manipulator, and if I didn’t dislike her so much, I would want her in my inner circle.” 

“I don’t think she’s trying to manipulate anyone. She’s just a bit obsessed with the idea of relationships,” I explained. Riddle shrugged and turned to sit down in one of the oak-wood chairs. 

“Is that really what you think Darling? I suppose that means she even has you fooled.” I was now starting to get annoyed with him. I reluctantly forced myself to sit in the other chair. 

“You’re just overthinking things Riddle. But I’ll write to my parents. What about you?” He had started to flip through another book, which I thought was a bit rude. 

“My grandfather and uncle know that I despise them. A simple letter would not convince them that I have suddenly changed my mind. I ought to write to your parents as well. Do they take well to flattery?” 

“Merlin, yes. Sage spends half of her life complimenting every little thing that my mother does. It works out well for her, she rarely gets reprimanded for all the trouble that her and Aspen cause,” I said with a chuckle. 

“Interesting. That’s your younger sister, correct?” 

“Yes, you met her last week. By the way, her and Aspen now believe you to be a vampire hunter,” I explained. Riddle allowed himself a small smile. 

“Well, I suppose it’s good that they think highly of me. What about you?” he asked. I was a bit confused by his question. I could hear voices coming from in front of us; a large group of first-year Gryffindors had just entered the library. 

“Are you asking me my opinion on you?” 

“Yes, I am.” For a moment, I thought about bringing up the whole ‘Heir of Slytherin’ thing, but decided against it. 

“This is only the second conversation I’ve had with you Riddle. It takes more than that for me to accurately judge someone,” I admitted. He seemed happy enough with my response. 

“Before I left for school, my grandfather insisted on having a long talk with me. He claims that this engagement is important to his reputation. He made a rather odd request. He wants me to act as if this was all my idea.” I studied Riddle for a few seconds. I could tell that he was withholding something from me. 

“Are you saying that I’m supposed to act as if I’m madly in love with you?” 

“That’s what my grandfather would prefer. He wants everyone to think that we are a real couple.” I grimaced at the word ‘couple.’ 

“But why? Everyone knows that most pure-blooded marriages are arranged. It’s not as if we’d be fooling anyone,” I complained. I wasn’t revolted by Riddle or anything, but I sure didn’t want to have to snog him in the corridors. 

“I agree. This just furthers my suspicion that my grandfather has ulterior motives. I need to get back to my common room, I have a few things to attend to. Would you like me to walk you up to the hospital wing first Darling?” He asked as he stood up, leaving this book on the desk. 

“No, I’ll be alright.” I slung my bag over my shoulder, along with Adelaide’s. Riddle and I stared at each other for a moment. He seemed to have decided that we would not be heeding his grandfather’s commands, which was fine by me. 

“Okay. I think that this conversation has been productive. I’ll check in with you in a few days,” Riddle told me. Before I could respond, he turned briskly and walked away. I was left standing alone, with nothing but a trace of his lingering cologne.


	7. six

_Dear Father, I am writing to you wanting to apologize for my irrational behavior that I have been displaying lately. I was confused and shocked by the proposal of such a sudden change to my life. I have come to the realization that I should listen to you and Mother, as you two know what is best for me. I hope that you find it in your heart to forgive me, as I want our family to be whole and strong again._

 _Love from, Ophelia_

I read over my writing a few times before deciding that it seemed convincing enough. I tucked it into my Potions book as a reminder to mail it tomorrow. I was sitting in front of the fireplace, watching Joslyn braid Adelaide’s hair. She was perfectly fine now; her foot completely healed. Raymond had been assigned a huge essay for Arithmancy, and was scribbling away next to me. Even though it was the first day back, all of us 6th-years had been assigned lots of homework. 

“It’s like they’re trying to kill us all. At this rate, I won’t even have time for Quidditch,” complained Adelaide. 

“What are you talking about? You don’t even play Quidditch.” Raymond snapped at her. 

“Just because I’ve never tried out for your team before doesn’t mean I can’t play. I’ve spent most of this summer on a broomstick, and I know that you need two new Chasers”, she explained as Joslyn continued to weave strands of her hair together, Raymond scoffed at this without looking up from his work. 

“I’m not putting you on the team. You’re not going to ruin the one thing that I care about.” 

“You have to at least let her try out Raymond. And I’ve seen her fly before, she’s quite good,” Joslyn added. Raymond let out a sigh and glared at the two girls. 

“Fine. Tryouts are this Saturday. Don’t expect me to go easy on you,” he mumbled. “Opehlia, did you ever get the chance to talk with Riddle?” A few of the second years who were at a nearby table lowered their voices to a whisper, clearly wanting to eavesdrop on what I had to say. 

“You know, I still don’t think the idea of him being the one who opened the Chamber too far-fetched,” commented Joslyn. I slumped back into the couch and rested my head against Raymond’s shoulder. He smiled and teasingly patted my head a few times. 

It was rare that anyone spoke of this particular event. The tale of the Chamber of Secrets was an old one, and many people had thought that it was only a tale until last year. A series of attacks against Muggle-born students had been carried out by a mysterious creature that was later revealed to be an Acromantula. One girl ended up dead, one that I had not known personally, but she did come from Ravenclaw house. Officially, we had been told that a third-year Gryffindor named Rubeus Hagrid had released the monster. Most of us didn’t believe this, seeing as Hagrid wasn’t a Slytherin, and it made no sense for him to be the Heir. 

“I’ve known Riddle my entire life, not closely, but still. He isn’t smart enough to open the Chamber of Secrets,” said Raymond. 

“What do you mean, ‘he’s not smart enough?’ He’s top of our year, he outscored everyone in most exams, even you Raymond,” snarled Adelaide. 

“My point exactly. He’s too focused on school-work to have the time to be plotting sinister crimes against other students. All the teachers adore him, even Headmaster Dippet. I don’t know why though, I think he’s nothing more than an arrogant buffoon,” Raymond replied. 

“Well, I agree with you on that one Ray. I had Prefect duties with him a few times last year, and he seemed to think he was above even speaking to me,” Joslyn scoffed. Joslyn was Muggle-born, which would most likely explain Riddle’s coldness to her. 

“Don’t worry, he hates me as well. He would always try to dock points from me when I snuck into his common room,“ added Adelaide. I suddenly remembered Riddle’s comments about Adelaide from earlier. According to him, he knew my friend much better than I did. But I knew that he was wrong about her, so I didn’t think I needed to mention this to Adelaide. 

After finishing all of my homework, I went to bed early. My nerves were much more calm than they had been the night before, and I got a decent amount of sleep. Early September meant chilly mornings and warm afternoons, so I decided against wearing a sweater with my uniform. Adelaide had already disappeared; she had probably wanted an early breakfast. I found Raymond waiting outside of my room, looking incredibly stressed and frazzled. 

"The way she talks to me, you would think I’m her younger brother. Since when does she like Quidditch? I bet this is all just a ploy of hers to wreck my happiness,” Raymond grumbled as we walked down a corridor. 

“Ray, calm down. You don’t have to put her on the team, you just have to let her try-out. Do you have Charms first today?” 

“Yes. Speaking of Charms, I wish we were still allowed to use Cheering Charms on each other. I could use one of those right about now,” he complained. I silently agreed; Raymond looked dreadful. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was unusually messy. Even his tie had come undone. I stopped walking and pulled him closer to me. 

“Here, let’s make you look a bit more presentable,” I said as I started to undo his necktie. As I was re-looping it around his collar, I saw a group of Slytherin’s pass us. Riddle, Lestrange, and a few girls. The only girl that I recognized was Eileen Prince. She was giving me a cold and calculating look for some reason. 

“Morning Sterling; Prewett,” said Lestrange as they passed. I gave him a small smile in response. Riddle was looking at my hands, still wrapped around Raymond’s neck. Eileen was obviously taking this in as well. My friend gave me a knowing look as I quickly finished adjusting his tie. I didn’t really want to stick my hands down his shirt with the audience that we had, so I let him tuck in the tie himself. 

“Thanks’ Ophelia. Your skirt’s a little lopsided, do you need my help with that?” he asked jokingly. I gave him a playful shove and grabbed his arm, tugging him along to the Great Hall. I flashed Riddle a quick smile before we passed. Eileen still looked as if she wanted to jinx me. 

Breakfast was delicious as always, yet for some reason Adelaide was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t worry too much, assuming that she had probably gone to the library or something. 

“I’m excited for Potions this afternoon. Old Slughorn is probably the best teacher we’ve got,” said Raymond in between bites of toast. 

“And you’re lucky for that. I still don’t know how you passed your Potion’s O.W.L last year,” I joked. 

“Neither do I. Potion’s is the only subject that I don’t have a natural knack for. Although you’re pretty good at it. You make a mean Draught of Living Death,” he beamed. I figured that he was referencing the Malfoy gala, where we spent most of the evening drunk off our asses. 

“Yeah, well that was mostly out of sheer determination to poison Julian. Can you pass me the salt?” 

After we finished eating we headed to Charms class with Joslyn and Terrance. Professor Stizor had given us assigned seating, and I was at a table with three Hufflepuff girls. I recognized one of them as Katie Spindorff, one of Raymond’s past flings. She greeted me with a genuine smile. 

“Hi Ophelia! I haven’t seen you in a while! How have you been?” she asked cheerfully. 

“I’ve been alright, how about you? Your hair looks really good dark, when did you tint it?” Kaite started into a story about a little Salon run by fairies in Diagon Alley. Professor Sitzor said that today’s lesson would be about Confounding Charms. 

“Remember that the use of this particular spell on your fellow classmates is not allowed. We will be practicing first on teacups, but next week we will move to living creatures.” 

The class went very well, besides the fact that one of my tablemates refused to talk to me. I recognized her as the blonde girl who had glared at me when I had gotten off the train. When class was let out I found Joslyn so that we could head to the greenhouses together. Herbology class was fun, but I was disappointed to see that Corrina didn’t have it at the same time as me. Adelaide had finally shown up at Lunch, explaining that she had been in the Hospital Wing all morning. 

“My foot started hurting again so I went back to get it checked out. Turns out that one of the bones had mended upside down, so I had to get it fixed. What did we do in Charms Ophelia?” 

Raymond and Adelaide argued about Quidditch the entire way to Potions class, and when we finally reached the classroom I had just about hit my last nerve with them. The rest of the students were talking loudly as we waited for Professor Slughorn. He arrived a few seconds later and started to bustle around his classroom. 

“Hello, hello, welcome everyone! If you wouldn’t mind taking your seats now so that we could begin the lesson. I have something quite exciting planned for today! You’ll find that I’ve already assigned you your partners for this term, so if you’ll please check the board to see who you’ll be working with.” With a wave of his wand the chalkboard filled with two lists of names. I heard Raymond let out a groan beside me. 

“Damn it, he put me with _you,_ Adelaide. Well, this is just great,” he said sarcastically. She started to bicker with him again as I scanned the board for my name. 

“Hello, darling. Looks like we’re together,” I suddenly realized that Riddle was standing next to me. I had been so distracted by Raymond and Adelaide that I hadn’t even realized who else was in this class. Riddle was right, our names had been paired together on the chalkboard. Before I had the chance to speak, Adelaide came over to me, completely ignoring Riddle. 

“Ophelia, will you trade partners with me? I don’t care who you’ve got, anyone is better than Raymond. I will not work with him,” she complained loudly. 

“Would you really prefer working with me over Prewett?” Riddle asked suddenly. Adelaide glared at him and rolled her eyes. 

“Never mind. I’ll just have to explain to my parents why I’m going to fail this class,” she mumbled as she walked away. 

“Are you any good at Potions?” Riddle asked. He had parted his hair to the side today, and his ebony curls looked incredibly soft. 

“Yes. Besides Astronomy it’s probably my best subject,” I told him. 

“Well, let’s hope that’s true. Where do you want to sit?” As annoyed as I was with my friends, I didn’t want to have to sit with all of Riddle’s Slytherin friends. 

“In the back with Raymond and Adelaide. I know that they’re being annoying right now, but I need to be there to diffuse things between them,” I explained. We ended up at the desk on the left of Lestrange and Eileen, on the right of Adelaide and Raymond. Slughorn explained that today’s class would be unique. Each pair was to brew a potion of their choosing, and the most unique and complicated one would win the competition. We had a little over an hour until the class was over, so he let us start right away. I pulled out my copy of _Advanced Potion Making_ and started to flip through it. 

“I’ve never seen you wear that before,” Riddle said as he pointed to my wrist. I held it up to flash him my gold charm-bracelet. 

“Well, you don’t see me much in general. Raymond gave it to me for Christmas last year,” I explained. Raymond had just gotten back from the store cabinets with a handful of potion ingredients as he passed our table. 

“And you better take it off while brewing dangerous potions, it was quite expensive,” Raymond snapped at me. I turned to roll my eyes at him. 

“You told me that it was Goblin-made!” Adelaide laughed as Raymond shrugged. Everyone knew that Goblin-made items were not affected by any substance. They never got dirty or damaged. 

“That’s what the store-broker told me, but he might have been lying.” I jokingly scoffed at my friend and turned back to Riddle. I unclasped the bracelet and tucked it into my pocket, figuring that I was better safe than sorry. 

“So what potion should we do?” I asked as Riddle continued to look through my textbook. 

“From what I’ve heard, you and Prewett poisoned Black at Mafloy’s party. He spent the whole evening saying that he felt as if he was dying. What do you do to him?” he asked curiously. 

"Oh, that wasn’t an actual poison. It was a Draught of Living Death. We didn’t give him enough to kill him, just to make his insides feel as if they’re melting,” I said as I smiled to myself. Riddle looked incredibly pleased with my answer. 

“But why did you brew that? The Malfoy’s have an assortment of old poisons in their kitchen. Why not use one of those?” 

“Well, in hindsight that probably would have been easier. Truthfully, I was incredibly intoxicated. I had the genius idea to brew something myself, so that’s what I did,” I admitted. Riddle let out a sigh, but I could tell that he was holding back a smile. 

“Well, we’re going to make a Draught of Living Death. I’ll bet it will be even easier for you this time, since you seem sober enough. I’ll get the ingredients, you set up our cauldron.” 

For the next five minutes or so we worked in silence as I crushed the Wormwood while Riddle cut up the Valerian roots. Riddle was not as intimidating as everyone made him out to be. He wasn’t one for small talk, but I was alright with that. Adelaide and Raymond had finally calmed down a bit, and they were working on what looked to be an Everlasting Elixir. 

“Have you written to your parents yet?” Riddle asked quietly. The classroom was quite noisy, but he still didn’t want to be overheard. 

"Yes, but I haven’t had time to go up to the owlery yet. I suppose my self-respect is what’s holding me back,” I mumbled. 

“I wouldn’t stress too much, Darling. Acting a fool towards your parents will only benefit you in the end,” he assured me. His cologne had been overpowered by the strong smell of potions simmering all around us. “Tom, could I have that bottle of Moondew?” I heard Elieen ask. She had gotten up from her desk to approach us; twirling a piece of her hair around her finger and smiling sweetly. He passed it to her without saying a word, and she looked rather disappointed. As she walked away I leaned in closer to Riddle. 

“She fancies you,” I teased him under my breath. He looked at me and smiled. 

“I know that, darling. Most girls fancy me in one way or another.” He said this in a matter-of-fact way. I rolled my eyes as I dropped the Wormwood into the cauldron. 

“Weren’t you two together last year?” Most people would probably avoid talking about past relationships with their ‘fiancé’ but seeing as me and Riddle weren’t really together, I figured it was fine. He had rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, revealing the lower half of his toned arms. 

“I’m sure that’s what she told people. But no, we never were. I slept with her a few times around Christmas and she’s been hung up on me ever since,” he said cooly. For some reason, the idea of Riddle hooking-up with someone made me blush slightly. I pushed that thought out of my head. 

It’s not like I was a virgin or anything. I’ve had sex twice, both times with the same boy. His name was Conner, and he was a Gryffindor in my year. It hadn’t been bad or anything, but I hadn’t loved it. My sex life wasn’t nearly as exciting as Adelaide or Raymond’s. 

“Wait, don’t add the sloth brain yet. Wait until after the snake fangs,” I told Riddle. He raised an eyebrow at me. 

“That’s not what the book says.” 

“Yeah, well I specifically remember adding the snake fangs first last time I made this,” I assured him. He bit the inside of his lip before letting out a sigh. I suppose that he had decided to trust me. 

“Fine. We’ll do it your way darling,” he said in a strained voice. I smiled as he stirred in the snake fangs. 

When our hour was up, I was delighted to see that we had been the only pair who made a Draught of Living Death. As Slughorn walked around to examine everyone’s potions, I was incredibly confident that we would win. And I was right, Professor Slughorn was overjoyed when he tested our potion. 

“Marvelous! Absolutely wonderful! You two have brewed this perfectly!” 

As we all packed up our things to leave class, I grinned at Riddle. 

“Told you that I was right about the sloth brain,” I teased. 

“Yes, you were. I suppose that I made the right choice when I decided to trust you.” And with that he went to rejoin his Slytherin posse. Adelaide and Raymond were in a much better mood than they had been when we entered the class. 

“I’m still mad at you, but I’ve decided to let it go for the time being,” Adelaide told him as we walked to History of Magic. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I still can’t believe Ophelia and Riddle beat us,” Raymond said with a sigh. He was always incredibly competitive. 

“How was it? Having to work with him?” 

“Surprisingly not too bad. I don’t think he hates me, and that’s nice.” Adelaide made us stop so that she could re-apply her lipstick before we got to class. Raymond groaned, but didn’t say anything to her. 

“What about you? Do you not hate him?” he asked. <

“No, I don’t think I do. He’s not too bad, as far as male Slytherin’s go. We’re both pretty smart, I’ll bet we can weasel our way out of the engagement before Christmas time,” I assured my friend. 

History of Magic was incredibly dull as always. Raymond slept through the entire class as Adelaide and I played games of Tic-Tac-Toe and Hangman. I went to the Owlery afterwards and reluctantly sent off the letter to my father. Joslyn and I settled in the library for a few hours to start working on a research project for Herbology. Out of all my close friends, Joslyn was probably the most level headed. I could always rely on her if I needed help. 

Raymond spent most of dinner trying to convince a first year that the Forbidden Forest was home to a large swarm of killer bees. Joslyn and her fellow Prefect Joel Mungworth had to intervene to assure the kid that Raymond was just pulling his leg. After Dinner we all went back to the common room and I immediately sat down at a table and pulled out my Charms textbook. 

“Ophelia, what are you doing? The Slytherin party is tonight, we have to get ready!” Adelaide exclaimed. Truthfully, I had completely forgotten about the party. I didn’t think it was necessary for me to go, now since I could talk to Riddle in Potions class. But, I had promised my friend that I would go, so I reluctantly assured her that we would have plenty of time to get ready after I finished my homework. 


	8. seven

At around ten o’clock, I was standing outside of the Slytherin common room with my three closest friends. Sneaking around the castle in the evening was difficult, but seeing as Joslyn was a Prefect, it was a bit easier. She was able to guide us around the corridors in a way that never got us caught. All of us were still in our school uniforms, minus our robes. Since this was just a house party we didn’t need to dress up. Adelaide had curled her long hair so that it flowed in cascades down her back and had decided on wearing a dark red lipstick. She looked incredibly pretty as always. 

“Adelaide, did Lestrange tell you what the password was?” I asked. The Slytherin common room was in the dungeons, meaning it was incredibly cold outside of it. 

“Yeah he did. Pure-blood,” she muttered to the stone wall. It immediately opened for us to reveal the green tinted light of the room inside. 

“Oh, well that’s just lovely,” Joslyn said under her breath. She usually didn’t take much offense when anyone bothered her about her blood-status, but I agreed that the password was a bit demeaning. 

There was music playing loudly and a strong smell of alcohol. All of the younger students had clearly been forced out of the common room, as everyone here looked to be at least fifth-year or older. It was mostly Slytherins as expected, but there were quite a few Hufflepuffs and a handful of other Ravenclaws. No Gryffindors were present, which did not surprise me in the slightest. Adelaide and Joslyn immediately went to join Lestrange and Rosier at a large table littered with liquor bottles, leaving Raymond and I to fend for ourselves. 

“I can’t believe that I agreed to this,” he muttered to me. 

“Relax Ray. We’ve suffered through years of our parents’ dinner parties and galas. We can handle a room full of teenagers. Let’s get drinks and find somewhere to sit,” I suggested. 

“Okay. I know that I’ll feel better if I’m drunk,” he said with a sigh. I went over to one of the drink tables and poured us both large glasses of spiked-pumpkin juice. One of the skulls adorning the table scoffed at me. 

“This place is quite cheery,” Raymond noted sarcastically. I ignored his comment and dragged him over to a leather couch by the fireplace. 

“Hi Abraxas. Is it alright if we sit here?” I asked. He was sitting with a Slytherin girl that I vaguely recognized. She was smoking a joint happily as she chatted with Abraxas. 

“Yeah, of course. Glad that you two could make it,” he said cheerfully. The girl reached over him to shake my hand. 

“Hello. I’m Camila Greengrass. You’re Ophelia Sterling right? You smell good.” I laughed and squeezed her hand. 

“She’s a bit stoned. This is her third joint,” Abraxas told us quietly. She pressed a finger to his lips to shush him. 

“They didn’t ask Braxy. Is it just me or is it hot in here?” Camila turned out to be quite entertaining, as every few minutes she felt the need to say something random and insane. Abraxas and Raymond chatted about Holyhead Harpies as I listened to Camila’s theory that dragons were really just big house elves. After about twenty minutes or so, Adelaide and Lestrange came over to join us. 

“Do any of you have a cigarette?” asked Adelaide. 

“You know that those are bad for you,” Lestrange told her with a frown. 

“Yeah, well so are sweets. That doesn’t mean that I won’t have them. Camila, what are you smoking?” Camila happily explained about the Muggle marijuana that she had snuck into Hogwarts as she passed a joint to Adelaide. 

“It’s alright if it all gets smoked tonight, I have plenty more stashed away in my trunk. Do you or Raymond want one?” she asked. 

“Er, no thanks. Last time I mixed alcohol with pot I spent the whole night puking,” Raymond said with a shudder. I nodded in agreement as I took another sip of my drink. I watched Adelaide inhale smoke before going to kiss Lestrange. He had lipstick marks all up his neck, and watching them was a bit nauseating. By the look on my friend’s face, he agreed. 

“Raymond, do you want to dance with me?” I asked him as I stood up suddenly. There was a group of about twenty or so students off in one of the connecting rooms where the music was playing, all of them dancing and laughing. He shrugged and held out his arm so I could pull him up. Camila gave me a giggly wave as we walked away. We walked up the two stone steps onto the dance floor and placed our glasses on a nearby shelf. I had never heard the song playing, I figured it must be a type of Muggle music. I had been forced to take ballroom-dancing classes as a child, which meant I knew how to waltz and foxtrot. But seeing as the song was loud and fast, I simply grabbed one of Raymond’s hands and swung us back and forth. 

“I can’t believe Adelaide. We haven’t even been here an hour and she’s already sucking face with Lestrange,” he complained. I lifted my hand up so he could twirl me around. 

“It sounds like you’re jealous Ray,” I teased. He glared at me before letting out a sigh. 

“I’m not jealous, I just think that she should choose her boyfriends more wisely.” he said as I narrowly avoided being trampled by a group of Hufflepuffs. 

“Don’t worry about her, she’ll be fine. What about you? Any girl here catch your eye yet?” Raymond glanced around as he put his hands on my hips. 

“Nope. Sarah keeps eyeing me though, I bet she’s hoping I’ll finally give her some attention. Like that’ll ever happen. But speaking of fiancés, where’s yours? I haven’t seen the King of Slytherin make an appearance.” Raymond was right, Riddle was nowhere to be seen. 

“No clue, but I don’t really mind. I’d rather dance with you,” I joked. I pulled Raymond closer to me and wrapped one of my legs around his waist, as if I was trying to grind on him. Him being the clutz that he is, he lost his balance and we both toppled to the ground. I giggled and rolled off of him. 

“Alright, I no longer want to dance with you. Let’s go drink our sorrows away?” I suggested. Raymond happily helped me off of the ground and guided me to another drink table. Someone had brought a bottle of Muggle rum, which I knew was Raymond’s liquor of choice. He turned around and shouted out. 

“Does anyone want to do shots with us?” We got a few stares, but no one acknowledged us. Raymond shrugged as he poured a row of about five shots and grinned at me. “

Looks like we’re on our own Ophelia. Cheers!” he said before lifting one of the glasses and tipping the liquid into his mouth. I did the same, and I had to force myself not to cough as the burning drink made its way down my throat. 

“Merlin. Ray, I don’t know why you like this stuff. It’s awful!” I said as I watched my friend take two more shots. 

“My dear Ophelia, that is besides the point. Do you want the last one?” I shrugged and downed the last glass, trying to avoid tasting it. Raymond poured himself a glass of Firewhisky and made me another spiked-pumpkin juice. I was grateful that he hadn’t given me whisky as well; he could take alcohol much better than I could. 

“Shall we go bother Malfoy and Greengrass again?” I nodded happily and took Raymond’s arm as we walked back to the couch. Lestrange and Adelaide were no longer there, but about five Hufflepuffs had taken their place. It smelled strongly of weed, and I assumed that all of them had consumed pot in some form. 

“And I’m telling you Alexis, trees can feel pain! That’s why some of them grow fruit!” Camila was saying aggressively. Abraxas ran a hand through his pale-blonde hair and turned to face me. Like always, he was doused in his strong mint cologne. I figured that he had also taken one of Camila’s joints, seeing that his eyes were bloodshot and watery. 

“Your ponytail is falling out,” he said as he pointed to my hair. He was right, it had come undone when I was dancing. I shrugged and tugged out the ribbon, letting my hair fall free. I felt Raymond tug on my arm before whispering into my ear. 

“Ophelia, Katie just showed up! You think I’d have a chance with her?” he asked excitedly. I shrugged as I started to swing my legs back and forth. 

“Well, you two split-up ages ago. But I don’t know, maybe she’d snog you again,” I told him with a shrug. 

“Good thinking. You won’t mind if I go talk to her will you?” I shook my head and squeezed his hand. 

“Go for it. Abraxas can keep my company,” I said with a laugh. Abraxas grinned broadly and slung his arm around my shoulder. Raymond gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before getting up again. 

“Thank you Love. I’ll check in with you in a bit,” he assured me. 

I didn’t know much about pot, but I knew that Abraxas had clearly consumed more than he could handle. He kept giggling and trying to touch his tongue to his nose. I listened in as the Hufflepuffs discussed their theories on the creation of the universe as I waited for the alcohol to kick in. After about twenty minutes, my head felt light and my arms heavy. In a normal situation, I was close enough with Abraxas to enjoy his presence. But he was completely out of it, and I felt very bored. 

“Ophelia, do you want to play Truth-or-Dare with us?” asked a voice from behind me. I recognized it as Adelaide’s. She was sitting at a table with about five other people. 

“Come on Abraxas, let’s go play with them,” I said as I forced him to stand up. He sighed, but followed after me to join the others. I made a quick detour to quickly down two shots out of the first bottle that I could find. I was finally feeling good, and I didn’t want to quit while I was ahead. 

Adelaide, Lestrange, Sewlyn, Rosier, a Slytherin girl named Maya, and Elieen Prince were all gathered together. I slumped down in the chair next to Adelaide and made Abraxas sit on my left. He slumped down in his seat and started to stare at the dark wood of the table in amazement. 

“What’s up with Malfoy?” Rosier asked me. 

“Oh, he’s incredibly high at the moment. I decided that he needed a break away from the stoners,” I said with a giggle. His friends studied him for a moment before deciding that he was fine. 

“Alright, well everyone knows the rules. If you refuse a dare, then you have to answer a truth, and vice-versa. We don’t have any Veritaserum, but I’m great at telling if someone is lying,” declared Adelaide. She was in a much better state than Abraxas, the only thing off about her was the fact that her and Lestrange were holding hands under the table. 

“Since this was my idea, I’ll go first. Evan, truth or dare?” Rosier chose dare, and he had to chug a whole glass of Gillywater in under five seconds. It took a few rounds before I was finally picked on by Eileen, who had just been forced to reveal that she thought the Bloody-Baron was attractive. 

“Ophelia, truth or dare?” I decided to start things off slowly, and chose truth. She looked disappointed. 

“Hmm, alright. If you had to sleep with someone at this table, who would you choose?” I studied my options carefully. Adelaide and Maya were gorgeous, but I wasn’t really into girls. I obviously couldn’t choose Lestrange, and I was pretty sure that Sebastian Sewlyn was a distant relative on my mother’s side. 

“Abraxas. I’ve always liked blondes,” I said with a smile. Abraxas gave me a happy thumbs-up, even though I was pretty sure that he had no clue what was going on. I turned to Adelaide and grinned. 

“Truth or dare?” 

“Dare.” she said with a mischievous smile on her face. 

“Go tell Julian off. Like really get into it. Curse at him like you told Corrina you wanted to.” Everyone laughed and cheered, excited for some drama. 

“I hate you,” Adelaide hissed at me. I shrugged and grinned into my pumpkin juice. 

“It’s about damn time that you let him know. He still thinks that he has a chance with you, you gotta crush his spirit,” Maya added. Adelaide let out a long sigh before standing up. Lestrange looked a bit nervous, but he didn’t say anything. Julian was sitting on a couch with a Slytherin girl that I didn’t know. My head was ringing as I watched Adelaide march over to him and start shouting. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but the cheers around the table assured me that she was killing it. 

“Ophelia! Ophelia, am I a ghost?” Abraxas asked suddenly as he tugged on my arm. Everyone laughed at his outburst. “

No Brax, you’re not. But I’m hoping that Julian turns into one,” said Adelaide cooly as she slumped back down into her chair. Lestrange pressed a kiss to her forehead before reaching for her hand again. 

“Are you two like a thing now?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. Both of them acted as if they hadn’t heard me. The game continued on as I sat back and observed. My head was spinning as my thoughts raced. I was thinking about Sage. I wondered what her and Aspen were doing right now. I wished that they had been born a year sooner, so they could be at Hogwarts right now with me. 

“Truth or dare, Ophelia?” asked Lestrange. I blinked a few times to bring myself back to reality. At least a half hour had passed since I last spoke to anyone. I opened my mouth to speak, but I was cut off by a new voice. 

“Very classy, all of you are. The entire common room reeks of pot and alcohol. You’d all better pray that Slughorn doesn’t show up,” lectured a blonde girl wearing the Head-Girl badge. 

“Lighten up Lucille! It’s a party,” said Sebastian as he held out his glass towards her. She scoffed and turned back around to storm away. 

“She’s right, all of you look like fools. I can’t believe I allow you idiots to associate with me. Are you all drunk? Malfoy, what the hell did you take?” asked a sharp voice. Riddle had finally shown up, and he was glaring at his friends. 

“I don’t associate with you,” Adelaide said with a happy laugh. Riddle looked at her in disgust. 

“Yes, well you’ve almost completely fucked your way through the entirety of the Slytherin year, meaning I unfortunately see a lot of you. Is Lestrange your next victim?” he snarled. For some reason, Riddle still hadn’t acknowledged me. 

“I hope I am,” Lestrange said as him and Adelaide started to kiss again. Adelaide giggled and whispered something into his ear. Both of them got up from the table and started to head towards the stairs. Maya and Eileen quickly excused themselves, not wanting to face Riddle’s wrath. 

“Malfoy, can you even understand a word that I’m saying?” Abraxas was staring off into space as he hummed to himself. 

“He’s really stoned. Like _really,_ ” I told Riddle with a laugh. Riddle raised an eyebrow at me, studying my expression. 

“Oh just lovely, you’re intoxicated as well. Selwyn, Rosier; you two seem sober enough to take Malfoy up to his room. He can sleep whatever this is off,” Riddle commanded. 

“I really want apple pie. Can someone get me some apple pie?” Abraxas blurted out. “

We should sneak out to the kitchens!” I declared excitedly. Abraxas suddenly pulled me in for a long hug. It was a bit like embracing a porcelain teddy bear. “

I love you Phelia,” he whispered into my ear. I giggled as he was dragged off my Riddle’s jockeys. 

“Where the hell is Prewett? Isn’t he supposed to be the one who looks after you?” Riddle asked sharply. I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest. 

“Hey! That’s not true. I think he’s still with Katie, and he’s had way more to drink than I have,” I assured Riddle. He still wasn’t happy with me. 

“What about your dark-haired friend? The mudblood?” I scoffed and glared at Riddle. 

“Don’t use that word! And I also don’t know where Joslyn is. I haven’t seen her in hours,” I admitted angrily. Riddle let out a sigh and reached down to grab my arm. He hoisted me out of my chair despite my loud protests. 

“You need to start keeping better company. How much have you had to drink?” I pressed my lips together and continued to glare at him. 

“Stop being a child. I’m trying to help you. Unless you fancy having to sleep on the floor of this common room tonight, I’d advise that you cooperate with me.” I let out a long sigh before speaking to him. 

“Like five shots. And a _ton_ of pumpkin juice. The kind mixed with vodka,” I said as I smiled to myself. 

“Well, you’re clearly too intoxicated to walk back to your dormitory without being noticed. I can’t believe you managed to brew an incredibly complicated potion while under the influence. You seem incapable of doing anything right now.” Riddle was being incredibly rude, and I didn’t want to hear it. 

“I’ll just go find Abraxas. He’s nice, he’ll let me crash in his room.” I started to walk away, but I was tugged back by Riddle. 

“Absolutely not. Do you not realize how bad it would look if my fiancé was sleeping in another man’s bed?” I shrugged and looked up into his eyes. My vision had gone a bit blurry. 

"We’re not _actually_ engaged. And you’re not a ‘man.’ You’re 16! I think I’ll just go look for Adelaide. Her and Lestrange will probably be done soon,” I told him in between another fit of giggles. Someone had turned up the music quite a bit; it was now incredibly loud. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could hear it all the way in the Gryffindor dorms. 

“Darling, I can assure you that Adelaide will be busy for a while. My grandfather would have a fit if he learned that I let you sleep in Malfoy’s room. I’ll walk you back to your dorm in a bit, once all this chaos dies out. We’re going to my room now,” he said sternly before grabbing my wrist again. Without any warnings from my body, I suddenly pulled away from Riddle, doubled over, and vomited. The alcohol was obviously not agreeing with me. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve before forcing myself to stand back up and face Riddle. 

“Someone else can clean that up,” I said before latching back onto his arm. He was clearly disgusted by the pool of vomit that I had just excreted onto the carpet, but he chuckled to himself as he led me up the stairs. He unlocked the door with a wave of his wand, and just in time. I had been hit with the urge to puke again. I rushed into his bathroom and quickly positioned myself over the toilet. I hated stomach sickness. I groaned loudly as I clutched my stomach in agony. Riddle was standing in the door frame observing me. 

“I hope you’re not expecting me to hold your hair back or something. This is your fault Ophelia,” he told me sternly. For a moment I thought about getting up to go vomit on his bed, but I decided against it. I flashed him the middle finger before returning to puking my guts out. 

Once I had decided that I had got the last of it out, I flushed the toilet and slowly stood up. I hadn’t pulled out my wand all evening, but I was relieved to feel that it was still in my pocket. I leaned my head under the sink to rinse the rancid taste out of my mouth before finally speaking to Riddle. 

“Can you go find Raymond please?” I asked him with hopeful eyes. 

“No. I can assure you that Prewett is the last thing you need right now,” he scoffed. I let out a sigh of exasperation and walked passed him into the main room. Since he was a Prefect, his dorm was a bit bigger than mine. Everything was neat and tidy, and it smelled like cigarettes. I had no idea that he smoked. His sheets were black and silky, and they looked incredibly warm. I slumped down into a high-back chair in front of his fireplace. 

“Riddle, why does everyone listen to you?” I asked suddenly. 

“What do you mean by that, my darling?” His tone still sounded a bit annoyed. He obviously thought that he had better things to do than drunk-sit me. 

“All of the Slytherins. They do whatever you say without even questioning you. Are you the leader of some kind of secret cult?” I heard him chuckle darkly behind me. 

“In one way or another, I have everyone here under my control,” he said vaguely. I sighed again. My head was still spinning. 

“Not me. I’m strong and independent,” I boasted. I heard him laugh again, and then saw a flicker of light. I swiveled my head around to see that he was sitting at his desk, a lit cigarette between his fingers. 

“I’m glad that you think so, darling,” he said as he took a long drag of the cigarette. The smell was surprisingly not making me nauseous. I stared at Riddle for a while. His hair was a bit messy and the top buttons of his shirt had come undone. 

“Can I have one?” I asked as I pointed to the carton lying on top of his desk. I smoked occasionally, when I was incredibly stressed. Right now seemed like a good time for a cigarette. 

“No. Do you want some water?” I let out an exasperated sigh and shook my head. 

“I hate you Riddle. I despise you. Why do I even call you Riddle. Your name is Tom. Tommy. I like that. Can I call you Tommy?” I asked with a grin. 

“No. You absolutely can not.” 

“Okay Tommy.” He didn’t bother to respond to me. We both ignored each other, him finishing up his cigarette as I hummed to myself. I wondered where Raymond was. I liked being drunk with him. 

“What’s that?” I asked suddenly. A large green candle was on the top of Tom’s dresser, and a small symbol had been carved into the wax. 

“That’s called a candle, darling. You light it and then the wax burns,” he told me in a condescending tone. I made a mental note to myself to light Tommy on fire once I sobered up. 

“Can I go back to _my_ room now? You’re incredibly boring,” I said as I watched him twist the serpent ring on his finger. I really wanted to touch that ring for some reason. 

“Well, I thought we should wait until the party calmed down. But I suppose I can take you now, if you promise not to talk to anyone downstairs. You being this intoxicated is not good for our reputation,” he informed me. I stood up happily, as I wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in my own bed. He got up as well, and I let him wrap his arm around my waist to support me. 

“You smell really good Tommy. Like smoke and expensive wood,” I told him cheerfully. “I don’t like it when guys wear too much cologne. Braxas smells good, but sometimes it’s too strong and hurts my nose. Raymond always smells like vanilla. I really like vanilla,” I rambled as Tom gave me a frustrated glare. The party was still in full swing, and he was not too happy about it. 

“I think that I might throw-up again,” I told Tom suddenly. He flashed me a deadly look. 

“If you vomit on me I will not hesitate to use the Cruciatus Curse on you.” I let out a burst of giggles as he wove us through the common room. 

“Silly Tommy. That’s very much illegal. Have you ever broken the law? I have. Abraxas got put in handcuffs by the Muggle-police, so I used magic to break him out. It was very funny,” I told Tom as he guided me through the stone wall. The instant that we were back in the corridor, my head stopped ringing. I could no longer hear the music or smell the strong scent of liquor. I let out a sigh of relief and smiled lovingly up at Tom. 

“According to Malfoy, he was the one who broke you out of the handcuffs,” he muttered as we started to walk down the dungeon. He lit up his wand to provide us with a bit of light. I had to grasp onto his arm to keep my balance. 

“This is exciting isn’t it! Ophelia and Tommy sneaking around the castle!” I exclaimed as we started up a staircase. A few of the paintings that we passed whispered amongst themselves at the sight of us. 

“I’m a Prefect, darling, I’m allowed to be outside of my dorm at night. You on the other hand, well you’re lucky that I’m the one walking with you.” I started to hum under my breath, wanting a bit of sound to cheer up the dreary corridors. The walk to my common room took about twenty minutes, seeing as I made Tom stop every now and then so I could admire a portrait or compliment a ghost. The tight spiral staircase leading up to the Ravenclaw tower did not help with my nausea. When we reached the top, the eagle spoke to us, demanding a riddle for entrance as usual. 

“What can you swallow, that can also swallow you?” I laughed loudly and turned to grin at my companion. 

“Cum. That’s an easy one.” Tom rolled his eyes, but I could see that he wanted to laugh. I poked him gently in the stomach. 

“That was a joke. A funny one. You can laugh you know,” I told him. 

“It wasn’t that witty darling. Although I suppose it’s good to know that you swallow. But the real answer is water.” And with that, the statue nodded and the door creaked open. My common room was completely empty, and even the fireplace had been put out. The only source of light were the flashing stars overhead. 

“Jealous Tommy?” I asked with a smirk. I wasn’t sure if he’d ever been in the Ravenclaw common room before. 

“I prefer the dungeons. It’s too messy in here. Which way to your dorm?” I pointed to the staircase and he put his arm around me again. He helped me up the stairs and down the small hallway. I stopped in front of Adelaide’s door and knocked on it. 

“I can guarantee you that your friend is spending the night with Lestrange. She won’t be in there. Which room is yours?” I happily led the way to my door, which I had remembered to leave unlocked. My constellation posters twinkled at me as we walked in. I turned back towards Tom and suddenly pulled him into a hug. He obviously wasn’t used to being embraced, and he awkwardly stood there as I rested my head in the crook of his neck. I wanted to take in his scent one more time before he left. 

“You’re really handsome Tommy. If it wasn’t my parents’ idea, I might even have a crush on you,” I told him as I looked up into his beautiful eyes. He chuckled and gently brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. 

“Goodnight Ophelia. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I flopped down on my bed and gave him a thumbs-up. 

“Goodnight Tommy.” I said with a grin. As he left, I realized that I had a warm and floaty feeling in my stomach. And I didn’t think it was from the pumpkin juice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer- I am not promoting or encouraging underage drinking or drug use.


	9. eight

The next day was absolutely agonizing. I woke up with a blinding headache that lasted for hours, and Raymond and Adelaide were now refusing to talk to each other. Raymond was mad that Adelaide had slept with Lestrange, and Adelaide thought that he wasn’t allowed an opinion on her sex life. I agreed with her, but I was too preoccupied to involve myself in their argument. Turns out Raymond blacked out before he and Katie gotten very far, and he spent the night passed out on a couch in the Slytherin common room. 

Transfiguration was incredibly awkward. Adelaide and Lestrange couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and Rosier, Raymond, and I all had dreadful hangovers. Abraxas kept mumbling about darkness and dragons. 

We quickly realized that the marijuana that Abraxas had smoked had been laced with something much stronger. Camila was incredibly sorry, seeing as she had no idea. She said that a few of the joints had been bought from a sketchy-looking Muggle. I helped her make a potion that would rid Abraxas of the hallucinations that he was having. I caught up with Joslyn during DADA, and she seemed to have had a great night. She met a sweet Hufflepuff boy and was in a much better mood than the rest of us. 

“Merlin, I am _never_ drinking again. I don’t even remember last night,” Raymond groaned as he picked at his stew. The Great Hall was unusually loud during today’s lunch, and all of our headaches had crawled back into our brains. 

“Yeah, well you’re quite lucky for that. I’m still upset with you for ditching me. I had to be walked back by Riddle. I kept calling him ‘Tommy’ and rambling about how good he smelled,” I admitted in embarrassment. And it was true, I did remember most of last night. I was dreading having to face Riddle in Potions tomorrow. 

“Hey, at least you didn’t sleep with him. That would have been much worse than just being a clingy drunk,” Adelaide assured me. She was also acting a bit strange this morning. According to her, she had the ‘best sex of her life’ last night. I really didn’t need to hear all of the details, but she insisted on sharing. I could understand why Raymond was annoyed with her. 

Astronomy class was taught by Professor Viotto, who was a cheery old woman that I respected very much. She was most definitely my favorite teacher, and I loved her lessons. Today we talked about Jupiter and its moons. My personal favorite planet was Saturn, but Jupiter was a close second. Ancient Runes was incredibly dull, and I had to force myself to stay awake. I took a long nap before dinner, hoping to finally rid myself of the pounding headache. The catch-up sleep and copious amounts of Shepherd's Pie had put me in a much better mood, and I spent the evening studying before heading up to bed. 

My Thursday morning started off with Raymond loudly bursting into my dormitory. 

“Ophelia, you’ve been sleeping for nearly twelve hours! We’re not going to have time for Breakfast if you don’t get out of bed soon,” he lectured as he pulled my sheets off of me. I was wearing nothing but a flimsy nightgown, but it was only Raymond. I glared at him before dragging myself to the shower. I got ready quickly, seeing as Raymond was constantly shouting at me to hurry up. He had a lot of energy this morning, and I quickly learned that it was because over twenty people had signed up for his Quidditch try-outs. 

“Adelaide still won’t give it up, but I’ll bet Lestrange won’t like her very much if she’s playing against him! Now I only need to decide which concept is the most dreadful; her dating Lestrange or playing Chaser,” he mumbled as we took our seats in the Great Hall. Halfway through Breakfast, the owls flew in; their talons carrying brown packages and various envelopes. To my delight, my little sister had written to me. I opened it quickly, as I was excited to hear from her. 

_To Ophelia, You won’t believe what happened yesterday! Aspen and I had gone into town to explore, and we think that we saw a ghoul hiding in the alleyway by the sweet shop! A real ghoul! Mother says that we must have imagined it, but I’m positive that we didn’t. I miss you a lot. It always feels weird when you’re not at home. Has Tom found his silver dagger yet? I still can’t believe that your boyfriend hunts vampires, it’s so cool! Anyways, please write back and tell me about Hogwarts! I love hearing all of your stories. I love you,_

_Sage Mira Sterling_

I smiled to myself as I read her signature at the bottom. Sage insisted on writing her full name on everything, as she thought the letters ‘looked pretty all together.’ I let Raymond read over the letter before tucking it into my robes. Him and Sage had always gotten along well, and I knew that he rarely got letters from home. 

“Merlin, I wish I had a younger sister. I haven’t heard from Raina since she got married last spring,” he complained as we made our way to Charms class. He exchanged a smile with Katie before taking his seat on the other side of the room. 

I spent all of Herbology class gossiping with Joslyn. She just learned that her Aunt was apparently dating a foreign Prince, which I thought was pretty exciting. My stomach churned nervously the entire walk to Potions class. I had definitely made a fool of myself in front of Riddle. It’s not like I fancied him or anything, I just didn’t want him thinking I was a complete idiot. I didn’t want anyone thinking I was a complete idiot. 

Lucky for me, Riddle wasn’t at our desk when I arrived. In fact, he ended up being about twenty minutes late to the lesson. When he finally arrived, he looked a bit flushed and his hair was slightly ruffled. 

“My apologies Professor, I ran a bit over-time with my Prefect duties,” he told Professor Slughorn. 

“Ah, no worries Tom! Miss. Sterling can fill you in.” Riddle gave me a small smirk as he sat down next to me. I had already started on today’s potion, a Regerminating Potion. 

“Good afternoon Ophelia. You look much better than you did the last time we spoke. It looks like we’re making a Regerminating Potion; am I correct?” I bit my tongue as I felt myself flush. 

“Yeah, we are. I’m really sorry that you were the one who ended up with me that night. My plan had been to stay with Raymond, but he obviously had a different one,” I confessed as I started to stir in the octopus powder. Adelaide and Raymond were silently working on their potion, seeing as they were both still giving each other the silent treatment. 

“Well, he’s clearly proven himself unreliable. Why are you and him even friends?” Riddle inquired. He had started to mince the caterpillars as I found myself staring at his hands. 

“I’ve known him since we were really young. I trust him with my life,” I assured my deskmate. 

“Darling, isn’t there a chance that your judgment might be a bit flawed? You tend to befriend _questionable_ people,” he said as he glanced at Adelaide. This was now the third time that Riddle had decided to comment on my relationships. 

“You’re one to talk. Julian Black is a member of your little posse. He’s one of the dimmest people I’ve ever met,” I snapped at him. I muttered a quick incantation to allow our potion to start to stir itself in a clockwise direction. Riddle had started for his wand, but stopped once he realized I hadn’t been trying to jinx him. 

“I consider Black a follower, not a friend. And watch your tone,” he said somberly. I was just about done with Riddle at this point. I hated being spoken to as if I was a child. 

“I don’t have to watch anything around _you_. You’re not my father Riddle. You have no control over me and my life,” I said sharply. He stopped what he was doing to give me a cold look. 

“You seem to have underestimated me, darling. Might I remind you that technically, I am your fiancé. Your parents have decided that they trust my judgment. I’m sure they wouldn’t be happy if they learned you were keeping the company of Mudbloods and whores,” he said dauntingly. I glared at him, determined to not back down. I wasn’t going to be bullied into submission. 

“I don’t give a damn what you or my parents think. You’re all a bunch of arrogant snakes that seem to think they are some type of royalty. I’m never going to marry you, and I won’t need your help to make sure to do so,” I hissed at him. I had raised my voice a tiny bit, but not enough to gain the attention of our classmates. Riddle now looked as if he wanted to kill me. He clearly wasn’t used to being spoken to like this. 

“You’re nothing more than a stupid little girl Ophelia. You know how to do nothing besides get drunk and argue with your superiors. You don’t want my help, fine. Have fun trying to wriggle out of an Unbreakable Vow without me,” he growled as he continued to glare daggers at me. 

I decided that I was done talking to Riddle. 

I snatched my bag off the back of my chair and abruptly stormed out of the classroom. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I left, but I didn’t care. 

I hurried away from the dungeons as quickly as possible. I was furious with Riddle. Not only did he insult me, but he continued to have the audacity to criticize my friends. Slughorn would be confused as to why I left so suddenly; I made a mental note to think up a good excuse before next class. 

“Ophelia? What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be in class?” I heard my cousin’s cheery voice call out after me. She was dressed in her Quidditch uniform, and was flanked by about five other Gryffindors carrying broomsticks. Although I would have felt comfortable telling Corrina what had just gone down, I didn’t really want everyone else to hear. 

“Oh, I had a bit of a stomach ache so I left Potions early. Are you heading to practice?” Corrina nodded and tightened her grip on her broomstick. 

“Can I come watch? I know you don’t want Raymond to learn about your strategies or anything, but I promise you that I don’t understand enough about the game to forward information to him,” I assured her. She could obviously tell that I was stressed, so she let me tag along. 

I skeeved off of History of Magic class to watch my cousin and her team soar around the pitch. It was quite relaxing, and helped to get my mind off of things. I caught up with Raymond and Adelaide at dinner, explaining everything that had happened as we ate. I left out the part where Riddle referred to the pair of them as whores. Thankfully enough, they were now speaking to each other. I supposed that they had finally worked things out between them while I hadn’t been around. 

“See, I told you Ophelia. The best way to deal with an arranged marriage is to completely ignore it. I haven’t spoken a word to Sarah in months, and we’re both perfectly happy,” Raymond told me as he buttered a slice of bread. 

“I wish it was that simple Ray. But your parents aren’t making you do an Unbreakable Vow. I’ve got to figure out a way to get out of that.” 

“Well, we’ve got time. Now that we won’t be bothered by Riddle, we can’t use our full brain power on this,” Adelaide assured me. I gave her a small smile as I picked at a potato with my fork. I had complete confidence in my friends, but I still wasn’t quite sure how we could outsmart both my parents and the Gaunts.


	10. nine

The next few weeks brought both change to our lives and our surroundings. The leaves turned orange as chilly breezes swept through the air, signaling that Autumn has arrived. The teachers had already started to pile on the homework, and almost every evening was spent working in our common rooms. 

To my great surprise, Adelaide made the Quidditch team. Raymond and her now spent all of their free time talking about broomsticks and mapping out plays. I didn’t mind much, as they no longer argued as frequently as they used to. Adelaide and Lestrange were officially together, and Raymond thought this was a huge advantage for Quidditch. He was certain that Lestrange wouldn’t try his very best in a match against his own girlfriend. 

Raymond had also coupled up, choosing Cindy Shacklebolt as the current love of his life. I actually got on quite well with Cindy. She was very funny and was great at doing makeup. Sometimes it felt a bit depressing to have to constantly 5th-wheel. Boys no longer made any attempt to flirt with me, seeing as I was essentially engaged to Riddle. 

Potions class had quickly become my least favorite. Riddle and I still had to work together, but both of us were determined to speak to one another as little as possible. We still managed to successfully brew all the assigned potions, despite the constant tension between us. 

My father had eventually sent me a reply to my letter. He wrote about how delighted he was that I had come to terms with my ‘impending future’ and that I was no longer a disgrace. I didn’t write back, seeing as Riddle’s plan was no longer of any importance to me. 

On a Sunday in mid-October, I was eating my breakfast as Raymond and Adelaide chatted excitedly. It was the day after our first Quidditch match, and Ravenclaw had beat Hufflepuff in a landslide. Spirits were high from the party that has been thrown in our common room the night before. Joslyn was in a great mood as she sat down on my left. 

“Good news everyone! Dippet approved a Hogsmeade trip for next Saturday! I’ve been craving some of Honeydukes’ chocolate for a week now,” she declared happily. None of us had been to the village since last term, so naturally everyone had been looking forward to this trip. I had promised the twins that I would send them some Zonko’s products just to spite our parents. 

“Well that’s perfect! I’ve been telling Lestrange that he needs to take me on a proper date for weeks,” said Adelaide with a grin. 

As the Hogsmeade trip approached, I quickly learned that all of my friends would be going with dates. Joslyn had been asked by a 7th-year Gryffindor, and even my cousin had made plans with some boy. Raymond assured me that I could tag along with him and Cindy, but I knew that wouldn’t be the ideal situation for either of us. I was finally struck with a bit of luck when I heard Abraxas complaining about not wanting to third-wheel for Lestrange and Adelaide. 

“Listen man, I don’t have a problem with either of you. It’s just that when you two are together you can’t keep your hands off each other. You can almost feel the hormones radiating off of you,” he complained during Transfiguration. With that, Adelaide giggled and turned to kiss her boyfriend. I sent an eye roll their way before speaking to Abraxas. 

“I completely agree with you Brax. How about you and I go together?” I suggested. 

“Yeah, okay! As long as you don’t make me go to that tea place,” he said with a shudder. I laughed and assured him that I wouldn’t. 

The next morning, I helped Adelaide braid a crown into her hair before meeting up with Abraxas in the great hall. I had chosen to wear my favorite gray cardigan along with a black pleated skirt. Abraxas’ black coat complimented my outfit nicely. I missed hanging out with him, his playful demeanor always cheered me up. We chatted about gossip we had heard from our parents the entire walk to the village. 

“Mum won’t admit it, but she’s still mad that Diane Parkinson and her husband left her last party early. She’s secretly hoping that one of them will get poisoned while they’re in France,” he told me as we walked along the street. 

“Well, Dina’s quite dreadful. She once said that Aspen resembled a goblin. I wouldn’t mind if she got poisoned,” I said with a laugh. “Can we go to Zonko’s first? I need to pick up some things for the twins.” 

“Yes, I’ll even help you pick some things out. Dinner parties are much more exciting when they cause some chaos,” he replied joyfully. We spent nearly an hour there, carefully selecting products that didn’t seem too dangerous for a pair of rambunctious ten-year-olds. By the time we left the shop, I had nearly filled my shopping bag to the brim. I spotted Adelaide and Lestrange up by the Shrieking Shack, kissing each other feverishly. 

“I’d never admit it, but I prefer your friend with Lestrange over Black. I’d rather all of the kissing than the loud arguments her and Julian would start,” Abraxas said with a chuckle. 

"At least she seems a lot happier this time around. What about you? Have you got your eye on anyone?” 

“Er, not really. I sort of fancied Camila for a bit, but now she’s with some Gryffindor. Surprisingly enough, my parents haven’t spoken of arranging a marriage yet. They’re hoping I’ll have a serious girlfriend soon though,” he said as we continued to walk down the row of shops. 

“Well, hopefully you can keep them at bay. I still can’t believe my parents; you know, my father threatened to have Sage marry Riddle if I refused to,” I told him with a shudder of disgust. Abraxas looked incredibly surprised. I didn’t like to talk much about my situation, but for some reason now felt like a good time to. 

“Really?” I nodded my head. 

“That’s the only reason I’m pretending to be okay with all of this. I’d die before I’d let Sage have to get married to someone almost a decade older than her.” And this was true, I would do anything to protect my younger siblings. 

“I’m sure you’ll be able to figure a way out of it Ophelia. But speaking of Riddle, he asked me to pick up some things for him while I’m here.” I stopped walking to give my friend an inquisitive look. 

“Seriously Brax? He’s making you run his errands?” Abraxas sighed and nodded. 

“He rarely comes to Hogsmeade; thinks it’s a waste of his time. Anyways, the thing he wants me to pick up isn’t even here, it’s at some shop in the Muggle village,” he told me as he pointed to the gate separating the wizarding village from the rest of the world. 

“What is it that he needs?” Abraxas pulled out a slip of paper and read it to me. 

“I need to go to a Muggle pawn shop called ‘Wally’s’ and tell the guy at the counter that I’m here for Riddle. Quite vague if you ask me.” 

“Incredibly vague. It’s quite the dilemma too. I don’t like the idea of doing anything to help Riddle, but this seems really suspicious. I’m curious as to what he needs from a Muggle store. Also, the last time we snuck out to wander around Muggle’s, we nearly got thrown into a jail cell.” My friend grinned at me, clearly reminiscing about our last adventure. 

“Yeah, well we’re both sober this time aren’t we? And technically, Riddle doesn’t know that I’m with you. He’d be livid if he knew I was involving you in this.” That made me grin. Even though he wouldn't know about it, I wanted to one-up Riddle. 

“Then it’s decided. We’re going to Wally’s.” And with that I grabbed Abraxas’ arm and tugged him towards the silver gate. We quickly slipped through it and dashed out of the sight of any teachers that might have decided to visit today. The Muggle village was incredibly crowded, even more so than Hogsmeade. From the alleyway, I could see a large collection of shops and restaurants in what seemed to be the center of town. 

“Alright, do you know where we need to be headed?” I asked as I tucked my wand into my shopping bag. I needed it accessible in case of an emergency, but I also knew that Muggles tended to be very confused when they saw anyone carrying a wand. 

“Riddle isn’t very helpful, so no instructions. Let’s just go up there and see if we can find someone who’ll give us directions,” he suggested as he concealed his wand in his coat pocket. Surprisingly, we didn’t stand out too much. We were dressed a lot nicer than some of the people we passed, but everyone must have assumed we were just wealthy Muggles who had good fashion sense. I spotted a man sitting outside of a coffee shop who was reading a newspaper. He looked like he was smart. I approached him with a smile on my face. 

“Excuse me Sir, my friend and I are looking for a shop called Wally’s. Would you happen to know where it’s located?” I asked in a sweet tone. He looked up from his paper to respond. 

“Wally’s you say? If you go up to the end of this street, you’ll see a statue of an angel. On it’s left is a road that’ll lead you straight to it.” I thanked the man as we walked away. We passed a few boutiques and expensive-looking restaurants as we made our way through the town square. I always found Muggle stores quite interesting, and if we hadn’t been on a mission then I probably would’ve made Abraxas stop to let me browse through the racks. The angel statue was made out of a white quartz and it looked to be very old. I was examining it when Abraxas let out a sigh. 

“I should’ve known. Of course Riddle needs us to go down there,” he grimaced as he looked down the path. The way we needed to head had a completely different atmosphere than where we had just been. It was dark and gloomy, all of the buildings looked old and worn. It reminded me slightly of Knockturn Alley. I took a deep breath and turned to Abraxas. 

“We’ll be fine. It’s just Muggles, remember? They can’t do much damage to us,” I assured him. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s just hurry up and get to the shop so we can go back to Hogsmeade. I’m starving.” 

Turns out, the Muggles on this street weren’t completely harmless. I was cat-called at least five times, and it took everything in me not to whip out my wand and curse the disgusting men. Abraxas had figured out that if he held my hand and walked a bit closer to me, I wouldn’t get hassled as much. He wasn’t very scary-looking, but the murderous glares that he sent in the direction of everyone seemed to help. He wore rings on almost all of his fingers, so I felt the cold metal against my skin. When we finally reached the end of the street, we quickly ducked inside the small pawn shop. It was incredibly crowded, filled with about ten or so seedy-looking men and women. The place reeked of mildew and smoke. One of the men flashed me a toothless-grin, and I tightened my grip on my friend’s arm. 

“Excuse me, do any of you work here?” Abraxas asked the crowd suddenly. Two of the women whispered to each other as they stared at us. A balding man wearing a raggedy old trench coat came up to us and smiled. 

“You two looking to sell something? I can offer you the best deal out there! Those rings Son, are they real?” he asked as he stared at Abraxas' hand. I had enough sense to know that this guy was obviously trying to scam us, but poor Abraxas had clearly never been in a pawn shop before. He beamed and held out his hand to the man. 

“Yeah! This one was my Father’s, and it’s goblin-made. Most of these ones are just silver, but this one is made of gold and the gem in the center is an emerald,” he explained happily. I spoke before Abraxas could say anything else. 

“We’re not here to sell anything. We need to speak to the shop owner,” I told him briskly. His eyes had fallen to my locket. Before I could stop him, he reached out and grabbed it. 

“This is quite pretty, dearie. Did Daddy’s money buy it, or is it a gift from Pretty Boy here?” he asked in his rasping voice. Abraxas slapped the man’s hand away from me and pulled me closer to him. 

“Don’t touch her. Are you the owner of this establishment?” he had lost his playful tone, and was now looking annoyed. I flashed the man a look of disgust as I tucked my locket under my shirt. 

“Samuel, I hope you’re not hassling other customers again?” a new voice suddenly said. A tall and skinny man had appeared. Unlike everyone else in the shop, he looked as if he knew how to bathe. 

“You don’t even work here?” Abraxas asked the guy who I now knew was Samuel. He let out a weezy chuckle and shrugged. He lumbered away to examine a rack of hats. 

“I apologize for whatever harm he caused you. My name is Wally, and this is my shop. How may I help you two?” 

“We’re here to pick up something for Tom Riddle,” Abraxas told him. The man raised a crooked eyebrow. 

“Well then, you’d better follow me to the back,” he said in a hushed tone. He started to push his way through the shop, us following after him. He led us through a door that opened into what looked to be a storage room. Wally started to rustle around through the boxes and glass cases. 

“That Tom boy, I remember him alright. He was here over the summer, very interested in our antiques. I’ve been saving this for him for a few months, it took ages to track it down. How do you two know him?” 

“Friends from school,” Abraxas muttered. He looked pretty uncomfortable, and was still tightly holding onto my hand. Wally had pulled out a small brown package and handed it to me. 

“There you go! Tom paid me ahead of time, so you two don’t owe me anything. Is there anything else I can interest you in?” I shook my head as I tucked the package into my bag. 

“No thank you, Sir.” 

“Alright then, you two have a great day! Tell Tom that it was a pleasure doing business with him!” We quickly hurried out of the shop, my mind flooded with questions. I pulled the parcel out of my bag and glanced up at Abraxas. 

“Well, have you got any idea what this is?” He shook his head. 

“No clue. Should we open it?” I nodded and started to carefully unwrap the brown paper. The item had been double-wrapped in a silk-looking sheet. I slid that off to reveal a small hand-held mirror. It was made of gold, the brim lined with delicate pearls. 

“Huh, that’s not at all what I expected. Do you think it’s magical?” Abraxas asked. I flipped it over to examine the back. The initials _M.A.G_ had been carved neatly into it. 

“I doubt it. It’s from a Muggle shop. Do you have any idea what Riddle needs an old mirror for?” Before Abraxas had a chance to answer, I heard someone shout in our direction. I spun around to see a group of teenage boys. There were four of them, and they all looked to be about our age. They were all wearing torn and dirty clothing. The one who looked to be the leader had a long and jagged scar running down the side of his face. 

“You two should know better than to be down here,” snarled one with matted red hair. I stepped forward, standing up tall. I wasn’t going to be intimidated by whoever the hell these kids were. 

“Excuse me, what are you talking about? Isn’t this a public street?” I asked in the most neutral tone I could muster. One of the boys let out a cackle-like laugh. He looked me up and down before mumbling something to one of his friends. I couldn’t see any of them carrying a wand, so I figured that they were most likely Muggles. 

“Don’t play dumb with us, sweetheart. It’s obvious you two go to St. Andrews’. Look at the way you’re dressed,” the boy with the scar spat at us. Anyone who looked and Abraxas and I would be able to tell that we both came from money. I had never heard of St. Andrews before, but I guessed that it was some school for wealthy Muggles. I reached out to hold Abraxas’ hand, hoping to present a more unified front. 

“Listen, we really don’t want trouble. We’re from out of town; shopping for my mother’s birthday,” my friend explained. 

“Oh really? If you’re telling the truth, you’ll have no problem letting us look through your bag,” the red-head said. There was absolutely no way I was about to reveal a bag full of Zonko’s products to a group of Muggles. I stood on my tippy-toes to whisper into my friend’s ear. 

“Abraxas, let’s get out of here,” I urged. Unfortunately for us, the boys were now all wielding knives. I let out a sigh before giving Abraxas a nod. We both whipped out our wands, which caused laughter from three out of the four Muggles. 

“Are you two serious? You’re gonna attack us with sticks?” the one with long hair laughed. The boy with the scar on his face had lowered his weapon a little, and he looked terrified. 

“Hogwarts?” he asked in a trembling whisper. I shot Abraxas a glance. Clearly this kid knew about magic, seeing as he was no longer acting so tough. 

“Yes,” Abraxas said sternly. 

“Alright, alright. We’re sorry for bothering you, I had no idea. Please, just leave now,” the boy whispered. His friends were all looking incredibly confused. I turned around to walk away, but I heard the sound of someone’s fist collide with Abraxas’ face. The ginger boy had lunged at him. 

“You really shouldn’t have done that,” I said as I silently cast a stunning-spell in his direction. He was thrown backwards into the air before landing hard on the ground. His friends instantly rushed over to him, which gave me the chance to grab Abraxas’ arm and pull him into an alleyway. I quickly cast a Concealment Charm in case the Muggles came looking for us. 

“Are you alright? How hard did he hit you?” 

“I’ll be fine, he just barely made contact with my jaw. Let’s get the hell out of here.” We quickly made our way back to the town square, which had a much brighter atmosphere. 

“That one boy with the scar, he knew about Hogwarts,” Abraxas said suddenly. 

“Yeah that was weird. He seemed terrified of us though. He couldn’t have been magical himself. Maybe a Squib,” I suggested. We passed by an Italian restaurant, and the smells coming from inside were delicious. 

“Brax, let’s have lunch here. We don’t need to be back for about two more hours,” I suggested. 

“We don't have any Muggle money,” he replied in disappointment. I grinned and dug through my bag to reveal my wallet. 

“That’s where you’re wrong. I always carry some with me for emergencies. Let’s go get some pasta, I’m starved.” I made the right decision choosing this particular restraining, the food was incredible. It took me a bit to figure out how much money we owed, but we walked out an hour later with our stomachs full and our heads happy. We both decided that we had enough excitement for one day, so we snuck back through the gate and headed up towards the castle. Abraxas still hadn’t finished his Transfiguration essay that was due Monday, so I agreed to help him with it. As we walked down to the dungeons, a voice called out for Abraxas. 

“Malfoy! You’re finally back! Did you get it?” I bit my lip, recognizing the voice as Riddle’s. I turned around to face him, and he glared at Abraxas. 

“What are you doing with _her_?” he snarled. 

“Why do you care, Riddle?” I snapped back at him. He didn’t acknowledge me. 

“Has she been with you the entire time?” he was looking furiously at Abraxas. I spoke again, much louder this time. 

“We got your stupid mirror,” I blurted out. Riddle’s face dropped. 

“So you did bring her with you. Malfoy do you not listen to a word I say? Are you completely brain-dead? I specifically instructed you to go alone.” I was astonished that Abraxas was letting Riddle talk to him like this. 

“I’m sorry My Lord,” he mumbled. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing. 

“Are you kidding me? You have your friends call you ‘My Lord?’ This is a whole new level of narcissism, even for you,” I scoffed. 

“Did I ask you to speak to me Ophelia?” Riddle said suddenly. “This doesn’t involve you, so I suggest that you be on your way.” I crossed my arms and stood my ground. 

“Actually, it does. I was hassled at least a dozen times while we were in that shady place to get your stupid mirror.” Riddle’s expression changed suddenly. He looked slightly worried. 

“You were? By who?” I rolled my eyes and scoffed again. 

“As if you care.” He let out an exasperated sigh and stepped closer to me. 

“Tell me who. If someone was after you two, that means they must know about the mirror.” I whipped the mirror out of my bag and shoved it into his hands. 

“No one else cares about this stupid mirror! Just a bunch of creepy guys hitting on me! Not everything revolves around you,” I snapped at him. 

“Oh. Malfoy, why did you let other men anywhere near her?” he suddenly asked a still nervous-looking Abraxas. I rolled my eyes in frustration. 

"Are you fucking stupid? You clearly have no idea how cat-calling works. And I’m allowed to be around ‘other men.’ I’m not anyone’s possession,” I emphasized loudly. 

“Why were you two even together? Shouldn’t you have been with Prewett?” I threw up my arms in frustration. 

“I’m allowed to hang out with whoever I like! And for your information, Prewett was on a date with his girlfriend. You wouldn’t fancy third-wheeling all day either.” Riddle looked away from me to speak to Abraxas. 

“Next time you decide to undermine me and take my betrothed out on a date, at least don’t involve her in things she doesn’t need to know about,” he hissed. 

“For Merlin’s sake Riddle, we weren’t on a date! We’re just friends, but even if we had been together romantically, it would be none of your business. I don’t give a damn what my parents say, I don’t belong to you!” I shouted. If I had been thinking straight, I probably should've just stormed off right then. But I was fed-up with Riddle trying to control everyone. I took a step closer to him, almost backing him against the wall. 

“I don’t know why you want everyone to worship the ground that you walk on. We don’t even speak to each other! You shouldn't expect me to treat you like some kind of king. Oh wait, you think you’re a ‘Lord.’ That’s really fucking weird Riddle. Do you get off on that? Is it some kind of kinky roleplay that you make all the Slytherins do? Do you make the girls call you that as they get on their knees for you?” I was determined to piss him off. I wanted a reaction. He stayed silent, signaling that I hadn’t quite hit a nerve yet. 

“Ophelia-” I heard Abraxas start to speak, but I cut him off. 

“Are you not going to answer me? It’s alright, I can figure it out myself. You’re a conceited and self-absorbed boy who gets a power-trip from that kind of shit. Why is that Riddle? Is it because you have _daddy issues_? Oh wait, you can’t. Your father is dead,” I snarled. 

Well, I got a reaction from him. Not the one that I had expected though 

I felt his hands grab at my waist, spinning me around so that I was the one against the wall. He had pushed me against the cold stone and his hand had snaked around my throat. He had a murderous glint in his eyes. 

“Don’t you ever talk to me like that again you dumb little girl.” He wasn’t shouting, but I think I might have prefered if he was. He had a murderous glint in his eyes. It took all of my courage to act as if I wasn't even a tiny bit afraid of him. I tried to turn my head to look at Abraxas for some re-enforcement, but Riddle instantly yanked it back towards him. 

“No. Look at me. I will not be spoken to like that. I’ve been lenient with you, letting you do whatever the hell you want. I can make your life a nightmare with the mere wave of my wand. Whether you like it or not, you are my fiancé. You need to show me some respect,” he hissed at me. His demeanor changed slightly as he removed his other hand from my waist, and ran his finger along my jawline. In a different scenario, this would’ve been incredibly attractive. I couldn’t stop myself from flinching as he touched me, which made him smile slightly. 

“I’m not going to hurt you darling. My grandfather would be furious. But you should know that I have no problem torturing the Mudblood or the whore if you continue to act like this,” he whispered into my ear. I knew that he was referring to Joslyn and Adelaide, which made my blood boil. From anyone else, I would read this as an empty-threat. But something in his dark eyes signaled to me that he was dead-serious. 

“Now, tell me. Did anyone hurt you while you were out today? I can see the bruise on Malfoy’s jawline, it’s clear that you two got in some type of altercation with someone.” He loosened his grip on my neck so that I could speak. 

“No. Some crazy guy tried to come at me, but Abraxas stepped in and roughed him up,” I lied. I wanted Riddle to not be upset with Abraxas when this was all over. Riddle would most likely be furious if he learned that Abraxas had let himself be punched by a Muggle. He had done nothing wrong, and I wanted to paint him in a good light. Riddle glanced in his direction. 

“Is that true Malfoy?” I heard Abraxas mumble something that sounded like a ‘yes.’ Riddle returned his attention to me. 

“Well, I guess you aren’t completely incompetent Malfoy. Next time, do more than just ‘rough the guy up.’ And you, are you going to behave now?” he asked me. 

“I’m not going to follow you around like some type of lap dog,” I told him. Surprisingly enough, he wasn’t angry with my response. 

“That’s not what I’m asking darling. You simply need to stay out of trouble. Can you do that?” 

“Yes.” Riddle smiled and let go of both my waist and my throat. Abraxas was looking incredibly pale. He flashed me a sympathetic look. 

“Malfoy, we’re going back to our common room now,” Riddle commanded. As much as I wanted to talk to Abraxas, I forced myself to walk in the opposite direction. I was now even more confused with Riddle than ever. Why had he been mad that I was with Abraxas? Did he really care about me in some twisted way, or was he just trying to manipulate me? What was the value of that mirror? Why was it important? 

As I made my way to the Ravenclaw tower, I was only certain of one thing. 

I was going to tell no one what had happened today.


	11. ten

Turns out, Riddle had choked me pretty hard. Within hours of our argument, purplish marks had started to form around my neck. Obviously, I did a quick spell to make them disappear before anyone would question what they were. 

Potions class was now almost unbearable. Riddle and I still didn’t speak to each other, yet now there was a dangerous tension between us. No one else seemed aware of the wicked glares that flashed between our eyes. We continued to get outstanding marks on all of our potions. 

I mailed the Zonko’s products to the twins, attaching a letter to make them promise they wouldn’t tell our parents that it was I who sent them the package. They both sent me letters of gratitude, swearing that they wouldn’t. I missed them dreadfully. 

Abraxas had been avoiding me over the past two weeks, which was most likely Riddle’s doing. All of our friends had been told that we had spent a normal day at Hogsmeade, as none of them needed to know any of the unpleasant details. 

Adelaide had been spending more and more of her free time with Lestrange. It was rare to find her in the Ravenclaw common room, seeing as she spent most nights in the Slytherin one now. She seemed genuinely happy around Lestrange, and it would’ve been cruel of me to try and keep them apart. 

The morning of Halloween was a foggy one. The fog that surrounded the castle was so thick that it almost seemed to be a cloud of smoke. I was looking forward to tonight’s feast, which was sure to be followed by a party in the common room. 

The professors were all in a cheery mood; many of them had even decorated their classrooms with pumpkins and skeletons. Professor Slughorn decided that today would be the perfect day to have us brew the Vamperian potion, which was a type of blood-substitute for individuals suffering with Vampirism. As I was stirring in the crocodile hearts, Riddle chose to speak to me for the first time in weeks. 

“Have you ever encountered a vampire before darling?” he asked in his cold and silky voice. I bit my lip for a few seconds to stop myself from glaring at him. He had parted his hair down the middle today, so that his ebony curls hung loosely from his forehead. 

“No, I haven’t. Why do you ask?” I hadn’t looked him in the eye, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of that. 

“Just curious. You know that your dear friend Adelaide has, don’t you?” Obviously, I did. Adelaide loved to tell the story of how she had fought off a vampire in a Muggle church last Winter Break. I was a bit surprised that Riddle knew about this, but I chose not to ask who he had heard the story from. 

“Yeah, she told me. Did you add the salamander blood yet?” 

When I entered the Great Hall that evening, it looked marvelous as always. Floating white candles were tonight’s only source of light, making everything feel eerie and exciting. To my great surprise, Lestrange sat at our table during the feast. It was against the rules to sit at another house’s table, and everyone knew that. Since it was so dark, I figured that none of the staff had noticed the green tie amongst the sea of blue ones. I actually didn’t hate Adelaide’s boyfriend or anything, he was somewhat funny and decent enough to me. 

Once I had finished my pudding, I persuaded Raymond and Cindy to go back to our common room with me. We were stopped right outside of the Great Hall by a frantic looking Adelaide. 

“Ophelia, could I have a quick word with you?” she asked quietly. I could tell by her pained expression that she clearly wanted to talk alone. 

“You guys go ahead, I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” I assured my other friends. Once they were out of earshot, Adelaide spoke up. 

“How have you been Ophelia? We haven’t talked much today,” she asked as she fiddled with her hands. I gave her a puzzled look. Something wasn’t right. 

“I’ve been great. And you?” 

“Fabulous. Do you remember that one time we got detention in our third year? The one where we had to go with the gamekeeper into the Forbidden Forest?” I nodded unsteadily. I had no idea where she was going with this conversation. 

“How would you feel about going in there again?” A group of giggling first-years were walking by, so I waited until they passed to speak. 

“Adelaide, is everything alright? Why would we need to go into the Forbidden Forest?” I stepped forward to hold her hand in a comforting gesture. Adelaide loved having fun, but she wasn’t reckless. 

“Well, you obviously know my boyfriend. And you know how he’s a part of Riddle’s, er, group,” she said in a shaky voice. I raised my brow before speaking. 

“You mean that weird cult thing he has going? Yeah, I know about that,” I said with a grimace. 

“Well, he’s been telling all his followers that he needs something. Werewolf blood. Tonight’s a full moon, and the Forest is known to house werewolves,” she said uneasily. 

“Okay? Is he making your boyfriend slay one or something?” My friend shook her head before taking a deep breath. 

“No. He wants me to do it.” 

“What? Why? You’re not a part of his cult, why would he ask you?” Adelaide’s silence spoke louder than her words. 

“Adelaide! Did you join Riddle’s cult?” I asked in a whisper-shout. She shook her head, which allowed me to let out a sigh of relief. 

“Fortunately for me, I’m not in Slytherin or a pureblood. He’d die before initiating me. But being with Lestrange and all, I need Riddle’s approval. I have to do him a ‘favour’ if I want to stay with my boyfriend. And for some reason unknown, he really wants werewolf blood,” she explained hastily. 

I was starting to realize just how much control Riddle had over his classmates. The whole ‘My Lord’ was one thing, but the fact that he wanted to have power over their personal lives was another issue entirely. I remembered him telling me that he had ‘no problem’ hurting Adelaide in order to control me. I shuddered at the thought of anyone laying a finger on my best friend. 

“Alright. I’ll help you get the damn werewolf blood. You’re lucky that I love you so much,” I mumbled. She pulled me into a tight hug as she took a deep breath. 

“You don’t understand how much this means to me Ophelia. Lestrange will also be coming, so I figure that the three of us will have a decent chance against whatever is out there waiting for us,” she assured me. 

“When exactly is this happening? And are we telling Raymond about it?” She shook her head quickly and glanced down at her shoes. 

“I don’t want him involved in this. Ideally, I wouldn’t have dragged you in, but I felt as if I had no choice,” she confessed. 

“Okay, we won’t tell him. Any clue how we’re going to pull this off?” 

“Lestrange has somewhat of a plan outlined, and I said we’d meet him in his common room,” she told me. 

The Slytherin common room looked almost the same as the last time I had been here, which was about a month ago. This time, there were no loud music or empty liquor bottles, just students chatting on the couches or reading at a table. Lestrange was sitting by one of the giant glass windows, which revealed the murky water of the Black Lake. He stood up promptly to give his girlfriend a kiss before smiling at me. 

“Hey Ophelia. Glad you could make it.” I slumped down into one of the wooden chairs and sighed. 

“Yeah, well _I’m_ not too happy about it. Adelaide said you have a plan?” 

“Somewhat. Werewolves in the forest aren’t expecting any humans in there, so they go after the next-best thing. Unicorns. I know that there’s a unicorn den towards the center of the forest, so if we can get there all we have to do is wait for a werewolf to find it as well,” he explained. 

“How do you know where the unicorn den is?” I questioned. 

“Care of Magical Creatures,” Adelaide told me. “The sooner that we get there, the better chance we have. We don’t need to kill one, just lure it close enough to wound it and collect some blood,” she said as she held up a glass vial. 

“Well, then what are we waiting for? Shouldn’t we get going?” The couple exchanged a nervous glance. 

“Er, not yet. There’s another person coming with us,” Adelaide muttered. 

“Who? I thought that it was just us three?” 

“Well, I also thought it would be three. I wasn’t told that you were tagging along,” a voice from behind us said. I cursed under my breath before I turned to face Riddle. 

“You’re coming? Why? I thought this kind of work was beneath you?” I asked him. I tried to keep my tone as neutral as I could muster. 

“This could be the only opportunity available for months. I won’t risk anyone messing it up,” he said with a shrug. Personally, I thought that if anyone were to mess things up, it would be him. I let out a long sigh before flashing a stern look at Adelaide. 

“Again, you’re lucky that I care about you. Can we leave now? I’d like to get this over with.” Adelaide flashed me a shaky smile before speaking. 

“Let’s go hunt some werewolves!” 

**\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The walk across the grounds was a long one. Seeing as it wasn’t past curfew yet, no one questioned us as we went outside. The air was still thick with fog, making it hard to see where we were going. Adelaide and Lestrange led the way, me and Riddle following a few paces behind them. Neither of us spoke to each other, which was perfectly fine with me. I was still very surprised that I had agreed to do all of this. I was always down for a bit of rule-breaking, but this was definitely a whole new level of dumb and dangerous. 

When we had finally reached the edge of the grounds, the forest seemed even more gloomy. The trees were tall and thick, casting long shadows that concealed everything dangerous that lurked inside. I lit my wand, wanting to create enough light to see where I was going. I was able to see about twenty feet ahead of me, which included a narrow looking path. 

“That one right there should lead us to the den,” Adelaide said as she gestured in the direction I had been looking. 

“And you two are sure about this?” Riddle questioned. Lestrange and Adealide both nodded confidently. 

“Alright then, lead the way,” he commanded. I saw Adealide hold out her hand, and I felt myself instinctively reach for it. But Lestrange took it before I had the chance, and they started to head into the dark woods. Riddle laughed and turned so that I could see his face. 

“You can hold _my_ hand if you’d like, darling,” he said jeeringly. I scoffed at him and shook my head. 

“I’d rather get mauled by a werewolf,” I muttered to myself. 

The forest was a lot more scary than it had been three years ago. Every few minutes or so, something screamed or howled in the distance, causing a shudder to creep down my spine. Lestrange kept cracking dumb jokes, trying to ease up the tension. Adelaide was the only one who laughed with him. 

Riddle didn’t seem to be at all scared. He hummed softly to himself, as if this were nothing more than an evening stroll across the grounds. He was definitely in his element, and his confidence ticked me off a bit. 

As we snuck deeper into the forest, my mind wandered. I wondered what Sage and Aspen would say if they knew what I was doing right now. To them, the idea of hunting down a werewolf was probably the most exciting thing in the world. 

“Why do we even need werewolf blood?” I asked Riddle suddenly. Adelaide and Lestrange were deep in a conversation about Quidditch, so neither of them had heard me speak. 

“The blood of a fully-transformed lycanthrope has incredible restorative properties,” he told me. 

“Yes, I know that. But why do you need it? What are you trying to restore?” I pressed on. Seeing as I was risking my life for him; I figured I had the right to know why. 

“That doesn’t concern you darling. Lestrange, how much further?” 

“Er, not sure My Lord. Maybe another half-mile or so,” said Lestrange. Both Adelaide and I laughed at his use of the honorific. Riddle sent a stern look our way. 

“You know Adelaide, I think I want you to start calling me ‘Your Majesty.’ That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” She giggled and nodded. 

“Yes, I think it does. Maybe we can get Raymond and Joslyn in on it,” she joked. 

“No, more than just them. Let’s make the entirety of Ravenclaw house address me as such. And I want-” Before I could finish my statement, I was cut off by Riddle. 

“Enough you two,” he said sharply. I rolled my eyes, but kept silent. I didn’t really want to make him mad, seeing as we were already in quite a dangerous situation. A loud screech rang through my ears; it sounded as if there was a banshee somewhere in the forest. 

“I cannot believe that I'm complying with all this,” I mumbled quietly. 

“Why did you agree to this Ophelia? I didn’t ask you to come along,” Riddle said to me. I was a bit taken aback by him addressing me by name. He’d only done that a few times before. 

“I know that you didn’t. I’m here to help my friend,” I told him. We had been walking a bit slower than the others, and I could now barely see the light of Adelaide’s wand. 

“Well, you do seem to be quite loyal. Shame that it’s misplaced loyalty,” he uttered. 

“Misplaced loyalty? You run a cult, Riddle,” I said with an exasperated sigh. He stopped walking and suddenly reached his non-wand hand out to grab my chin. It wasn’t as harsh as the last time he touched me. He tilted my head upwards so that I would look at him. I could just barely make out the positioning of his eyes in the dim light. 

“It’s not a cult, darling. I don’t know why you keep insisting that it is,” he told me as I felt the cold metal of his rings against my skin, ”Your cheeks are flushed. Are you intimidated by me?” His face was mere inches from mine; the scent of his cologne filling my nostrils. 

“I’m not intimidated by _you_. I’m in the middle of a forest that is home to hundreds of dangerous creatures. And it’s quite cold in here,” I told him. He traced along one of my cheekbones with his thumb for a moment before removing his hand from my face. 

“Are you two done flirting with each other? I think we’re here,” Adelaide shouted suddenly. I made a mental note to scold her later. My face was now feeling incredibly hot. I was used to people touching me; my friend group tended to be very affectionate. But when Riddle touched me, I got the strangest feeling. My body wasn’t sure if it should be afraid of him or not. Adelaide was right, we had reached the unicorn den. There was a small clearing in front of us, and I could see about ten or so of the magnificent creatures. They cast an almost magical-feeling brightness across the clearing, illuminating it enough to see clearly. A few of them turned their heads to look at us, but they didn’t seem too bothered. Lestrange tried to step forward, but Adelaide pulled him back. 

“Don’t approach them, love. They don’t really like boys, remember?” Lestrange complied, even though he looked a bit disappointed. 

“And, we didn’t come all this way for unicorns. We’re here for werewolves,” Riddle reminded us. 

“Right. And just how do you suppose we go about this?” I asked. 

“Well, we don’t need to kill it or anything. Just wound it badly enough so that we can collect some of its blood.” Lestrange pointed out. 

“I want Adelaide to be the one who gets the blood,” commanded Riddle. 

“Alright, sure. Ophelia, can you stun it for me?” she asked. Before I had the chance to reassure her that I could, a beam of light flashed in our direction. I heard voices shouting, voices that sounded very human. 

We clearly weren’t alone in the forest. 

The unicorns had also been startled, as they were now starting to scatter. I felt someone’s hand grab onto my arm and yank me back. They pulled me behind a large tree, and clamped their other hand over my mouth. It was Riddle, and he looked worried. I yanked his hand away from my face and glared at him. 

I casted a quick Muffliato Charm before yelling at him. Adelaide and Lestrange had also ducked behind a tree, and I made sure to include them within the charm’s protection. 

“Who are those people and why are we hiding from them?” Riddle glanced at Lestrange, who shrugged. 

“I don’t know. But anyone who is in the Forbidden Forest at this time of night is most likely up to no good,” he snapped at me. Obviously, I knew that. But Riddle wasn’t the type to run and hide, he was more of an attack now, think later type of guy. 

“Yeah, so they’re probably just as scared of us. Did they see any of us?” Adelaide asked. Riddle shook his head. 

“No, I don’t think so. But we need to stay out of sight,” he hissed, directing his comment to Lestrange, who was attempting to peek around the tree trunk to get a better look at whoever was out there. And before one of us could yank him back, a burst of red light shot at his chest. From the looks of things, he was able to cast a protego before the curse had hit him, seeing as his wand was emitting a silver-shield. 

“I got one of them! They’re Hogwarts kids!” shouted an unfamiliar male voice. I felt Adelaide’s soft hand clamp down on my arm. 

“Run,” she demanded before starting off in the opposite direction, pulling me with her. I had no clue what we were running from, but I didn’t protest. I could hear both of the boys close behind. Constant yells and bursts of colored lights confirmed that various curses and hexes were being thrown at us. 

The only consistent light source came from our wands, making it very hard to know where we were headed. I felt branches scratch against my face and arms; roots and brambles ripping open both my stockings and multiple layers of my skin. 

Out of the blue, I felt myself slip and be pulled down to the ground. My friend had reached a cliff-like obstacle, and she let herself slide down the slope of it. We hit the ground with a thud. The tumble had been only one of about ten feet, but I had gotten the wind knocked out of me nonetheless. Riddle and Lestrange had had the same idea as Adelaide; I felt them slip down next to us to take cover. A large rock behind us seemed to conceal us from our attackers, as I watched them run over the rock, and past us. I held my breath until all seven of them were out of sight. Lestrange was breathing heavily and I could feel something wet and sticky on his leg. 

He was bleeding. Adealide had hastily casted a Concealment Charm before turning to me and speaking in a hushed tone. 

“Are you alright? Did you get hit with anything?” she asked me. 

“She didn’t. I blocked every jinx that those fools sent her way,” Riddle grumbled. I ignored him and spoke to Adelaide. 

“I’m fine. Lestrange, are you?” 

“Back by the den, that red light was some kind of slasher-curse. It missed my chest, but I wasn’t quick enough to deflect it completely. It tore up my leg,” he admitted in a strained voice. Adelaide climbed over me, pushing her way to assist her boyfriend. I was shoved against the fourth member of our group, and he let out a grunt as I collided with his chest. 

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I crawled away from him. I was still trying to catch my breath, and it was difficult to do so silently. 

“Who was after us?” I asked Riddle quietly. I could just barely make out the shape of his face. It was much too dark to read his expression. 

“The Numus,” he replied in a haggard tone. 

Every magical person living in this day and age also knew of Grindelwald, a deranged yet powerful wizard who believed in supremacy over Muggles. Many pure-blooded families, my parents included, secretly felt as if Grindelwald had the right idea. Gindelwald’s forces were growing throughout all of Europe, and it was predicted that he was slowly rising to power. Him and his followers were incredibly dangerous, especially to anyone who was Muggleborn. 

The Numus were essentially a branch of Grindelwald supporters. They were tasked with financially supporting their master. They achieved this by planning raids on manors, museums, and had even attempted to break into Gringotts. I had read about them many times in the Daily Prophet, but I had absolutely no idea why Riddle thought that they were the ones chasing us. 

“What? Why would they be here? There’s no gold in the Forbidden Forest,” I told him. 

“For a Ravenclaw, you’re acting quite daft. Gold isn’t the only thing that is valuable,” he stated. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep my composure. 

“I obviously know that. But how do you know that it’s _them_? I hissed at him. 

“ _Because_ , I recognize one of them. The one that went after Lestrange, I know him.” 

“Then why are we running? You seem like the type who would support Grindelwald. I’m a bit surprised that you haven’t already joined up.” 

“I don’t like the way that he carries things out, although I do agree with many of his ideologies. I’m much too powerful to join his legions,” he said cockily. If I wasn’t in the situation that I currently was, I probably would’ve laughed. 

“Of course you think that. No wonder my parents like you so much, you’re only a teenager and already planning world-domination,” I said in a mock-croon. 

Before Riddle had the chance to rebuttal, a piercing scream filled the air. I could make out the figure of a child standing about fifty yards away from us, seeing as they were glowing brightly. 

“Ophelia! Ophelia, help me!” cried the shadow. My heart stopped beating. 

The voice that was crying out to me was my sister’s. I tried to leap forwards, but both Adelaide and Riddle were holding me back. 

“It’s a boggart Ophelia!” Adelaide said as she urged me to stay down. Lestrange was groaning in pain, my hand had accidentally slammed down on him when I jumped up. I knew that Adelaide was wrong, that wasn’t a boggart. I’d faced them in DADA class before, and mine had been a giant snake. This was real. 

“Get _off_ of me!” I shouted as I clawed at her arm with my fingernails. She yelped in surprise, releasing her grip on me. Sage let out another scream as I bounded towards her. I was lurched backwards as Riddle wrapped his arms around my gut, trying to stop me from getting to my sister. 

“You’re going to get us all killed,” he hissed as I struggled against him. 

Like he cared. 

I sharply swung my leg back and kicked his knee with enough pressure that he let go of me. As I ran towards my sister, I could hear Adelaide and Lestrange shouting, pleading for me to come back. I ignored them. I had to get to Sage, I had to help her. 

I was fifty feet away, she screamed. 

Twenty feet, another loud cry. 

Ten feet, Riddle’s thundering voice yelling at me to stop, that this was clearly a ruse of some sort. 

And when I was merely inches from her, she vanished. A man with a sneering grin appeared in her place. 

“Tricked you.” He chortled before aiming his wand at my chest. Everything went black before I had a chance to scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not in any way an expert on werewolves or unicorns, so I apologize if what I've written isn't entirely accurate. After all, it's really just for the sake of the story. :)


	12. eleven

After an unknown amount of time had passed, I slowly started to wake up. My head spinning and my vision blurry. I was still outside; I could feel the sharpness of the cold air hitting my bare skin. I tried to rub my sore eyes, but I soon realized that my hands had been tied behind my back. I was in a sitting position, up against one of the large trees. I was obviously somewhere in the forest. I looked up for a moment, and wasn't even able to see the moon. 

“You’re awake,” a soft voice said from in front of me. A boy that looked to be a few years older than me stepped into my line of vision. He cast Lumos, allowing me a better view of him. He was clearly a wizard, seeing as he was wielding a wand and had just performed magic. He wasn’t in a Hogwarts uniform though, and I didn’t recognize him. 

“I have your wand. I can’t give it back to you yet, but I can assure you that you’re safe,” he told me, his voice tinted with an Irish accent. 

“Where am I?” I asked. I obviously knew that we were somewhere in the Forbidden forest, but I was hoping that this question would get him to reveal something more. 

“Couldn’t tell you, I’m not entirely sure. But Pops knows, and he’ll be back soon. What’s your name?” I heard the loud squawk of a bird from overhead, which gave me a moment to think. 

“Diane. What’s yours?” I lied, using my mother’s name. 

“Cian Byrant. So you go to Hogwarts then?” I nodded my head, seeing as my uniform had already revealed me. 

“Yeah, I’m a Ravenclaw. In my fifth year. Did you go to Hogwarts?” I purposely told him that I was younger, hoping that he would underestimate my abilities. Clearly, he was somehow involved in my capture. 

“Nah, I was homeschooled. Mum and Pop both thought Hogwarts was for dandies. What’s your blood-status?” 

“Both my parents are magical. Can you tell me _why_ we’re here, Cian?” I asked, quickly changing the subject. 

“Oh, well, I would’ve thought that’s obvious. Pops caught you. Your friends all got away, if that’s what you’re wondering. Pops is trying to track them down as we speak,” he informed me in a sad voice. 

“Is your father working alone?” I had started to fidget with the rope binding my hands together. Whoever had tied the knots had done a great job, seeing as I wasn’t able to loosen them at all. 

“Yeah, it’s just the two of us camped out here. We’ve been here for a week or so, but so have they. The ones who work for Grindelwald are also here. They were after you, that’s how Pops found you. He didn’t want them to get you.” 

Well, if my memory served me right, Cian’s father had seemed quite delighted when he had fooled me with his Boggart Imitation Charm. 

“Why would he not want them to find us?” I asked quietly. I was incredibly curious as to why Cian and his father were camped out in the forest in the first place. Even though it wasn’t technically Hogwarts grounds, most people avoided this area at all stakes. 

“Not sure. He doesn’t tell me much. Why were you and your friends in the forest?” 

“One of my friends wanted werewolf blood. Stupidly, I agreed to help him try and get some,” I admitted with a groan. 

I was going to kill Riddle for getting me into this mess. 

“Really? Werewolves are super dangerous, what would be worth risking your life trying to get some of their blood?” he asked in disbelief. 

“I wish I knew. Er, Cian. Is there a chance you could untie me?” He shook his head sorrowfully. 

“I would, but if Pops comes back and sees, I’d be in big trouble. Your voice sounds a bit raspy, would you like some water?” 

“Yeah, okay.” I watched as he got up to walk over to a tent-like structure and rummaged around for a bit. He came back with a cup, and filled it using his wand. I let him hold it up to my lips, and I let out a sigh of relief the second the cool liquid filled my mouth. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I had been. 

“How’d your face get cut?” he asked as I finished drinking. I figured that he was talking about my cheek, which had been bleeding last time I was able to touch it. 

“A branch. I wasn’t paying much attention when we were running from the Numus,” I told him. He gave me a sympathetic look and glanced down at my legs. From the light of his wand, I was able to see that my stockings had been torn. My skirt and top were both torn in multiple places and covered with dried mud and what looked to be a bit of blood. 

“The blood isn’t mine,” I assured him quickly. I wondered where the others were. They obviously hadn’t been taken by the same man as I had, but there was always the possibility that the Numus had caught up with them. 

“Diane, can I ask you something?” I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a nod. 

“What’s it like at Hogwarts?” he asked shyly. The simplicity and innocence of his question struck a chord somewhere inside of me. He seemed to be nothing more than another teenager, caught in between drama that didn’t involve him. 

“It’s amazing. The castle itself is absolutely magnificent. It’s about 1,000 years old, for reference. Most of the classes are really interesting, my personal favourite is Astronomy. I’ve always loved stars,” I told him with a dreamy sigh. 

“What about Quidditch? I’ve always enjoyed going to matches, ever since I was a little kid.” For some strange reason, Cian reminded me a bit of Aspen. They were both incredibly curious, but in a polite and refined way. 

“I’m not a huge fan of it, but a lot of my close friends play. I will admit, it’s pretty exciting watching them play. I personally don’t like heights, which I guess would explain why I’ve never been interested in playing,” I admitted with a soft chuckle. 

The silence around us was suddenly disturbed by the distant howl of a wolf, which sent shudders down my spine. Cian suddenly waved his wand, and the rope around my arms came loose. I gave him a thankful smile as I rubbed my sore wrists. 

“Do you want something to eat? I have some rolls and I think a bit of jerky.” 

“That would be great.” As Cian got up to head back to his tent, I heard something rustle in the area behind me. I swiveled my head to the side to see what had made this noise. I suddenly felt myself being lifted off the ground as a hand clamped over my mouth to stop me from screaming. I tasted the cold metal against my tongue, so I opened my eyes to see Riddle’s familiar hand, adorned with his gleaming serpent ring. 

“Don’t make a sound,” he hissed into my ear. I nodded, and he slowly removed his hand from my mouth. Generally, I wasn’t Riddle’s biggest fan. But right now, I was incredibly happy to see him. 

“Do you have your wand?” he asked in an almost-silent whisper. I shook my head. 

“Diane? Did you say something?” Cian called out. Before I could stop him, Riddle whipped out his wand and sent a Stunning Spell at Cian, making him fly backwards into the air. 

“Did he hurt you at all? I’ll kill him,” Riddle asked frantically as he grabbed my arm, looking me up-and-down for any new injuries. I shook him off of me. 

“No, I’m fine. And you didn’t have to attack him, he wasn’t the one who snatched me. His father did; something about not wanting me to be found by the Numus,” I explained quickly. Riddle let out a low groan and summoned my wand from the tent, using his own. I felt a lot safer once it was back in my hands. 

“Come on, we need to get going. The others are waiting for us. I would tortue him a bit, but I don’t want anyone knowing we were here,” Riddle told me as he latched a hand around my wrist. 

I tried to tug myself free, but it was no use. I reluctantly let him lead me out of the small clearing, and back into the woods. I felt a bit bad about leaving Cian defenseless, but I figured we had no other option. We traveled in silence for about ten minutes, before I decided that I wanted to speak to Riddle. 

“How did you even find me?” I asked Riddle as we jogged down a dirt path, illuminating the way with our wands. 

“As soon as you ran off like a fool, I cast a Tracking Charm. I’m still mad at you,” he grumbled. I shot him a dirty look. 

“Why are you mad at _me_? I wasn’t the one who decided that I desperately needed werewolf blood, and was going to make my friend’s girlfriend help me retrieve it in some weird initiation ritual,” I snapped at him. I felt his grip on me tighten. 

“You should have known better than to fall for that fake-Boggart. How would it have been plausible for your sister to be in the middle of the Forbidden Forest?” he said jeeringly. 

“You don’t understand Riddle. _You_ don’t have siblings,” I reminded him. “Do you even know where we’re going? Are Adelaide and Lestrange alright? Did the Numus catch ever catch up with you?” 

“Yes, yes, and no. What happened to your face, darling?” he asked as he glanced at my cheek. His tone had changed, he now seemed more worried than annoyed with me. 

“A branch cut it. When we were running earlier.” We were nearing the edge of the forest, as I could see the basic outline of the castle from where we were. 

“Let me see,” he demanded as he suddenly stopped walking. He grabbed my chin and tilted my head up towards him. He stared at the small cut for a few moments before deciding that I was telling the truth. 

“If someone ever hurts you, I want you to tell me.” I scoffed and looked up into his dark eyes. 

“I can handle myself, Riddle. Why do you act like this?” 

“What do you mean, darling?” he voiced. He had let go of my face, and we were now walking again. My feet were starting to become sore, seeing as they had gone through a lot tonight. 

“You’re weirdly protective over me. It would make sense if we were friends, but we’re not. We hate each other,” I explained. 

“I don’t hate you. Do you hate me?” 

“Most of the time,” I admitted. I wasn’t going to lie to him, the last thing he needed was another person boosting his ego. He stayed silent for a moment, thinking over what I had just said. 

“Well, your opinion of me doesn’t matter much. But for curiosity’s sake, what would I have to do for you to not hate me?” he inquired. I let out a loud scoff, and I could see his lips curl into a small smile. 

“You’re really full of yourself Riddle.” 

“Ophelia! Is that you?” a feminine voice called out. I pushed in front of Riddle and raced over to Adelaide, throwing myself into her arms. I gave her a long hug before pulling away to make sure that she was alright. 

Standing behind her was Lestrange, who I also threw my arms around. Adelaide had healed his leg up nicely, leaving behind only a bit of dried blood. I heard Riddle loudly clear his throat, which signaled Lestrange to step away from me. Neither of us felt like facing Riddle’s wrath tonight. 

“Thank Merlin that you’re alright! I almost had a fit when Riddle didn’t let us help find you,” she explained as she squeezed my hand. 

“Well, like always, I was right. If all three of us had gone to get her, we would’ve been caught. Lestrange, you were wrong. She wasn’t taken by the Numus,” said Riddle sharply. 

“Really? Who took you?” Lestrange asked me. 

“Some kid and his father. No clue who they were, but according to the son, they don’t work for Grindelwald,” I explained. Adelaide flashed Riddle a nervous look. 

“Why did they take her then?” 

“I’m not quite sure. darling, did you tell them your real name?” I shook my head quickly. 

“I only ever spoke to the son, Cian. He said his father was out looking for all of you. But I gave him a fake name.” 

“Good girl. Did you two have any trouble while I was gone?” Riddle smiled at me before turning to speak to the others. Adelaide and Lestrange both shook their heads. 

“Nope. Well actually, we sort of did. But I think you’ll be rather pleased with us,” Adelaide said as a wide grin spread across her face. She revealed the small glass vial, only now it was filled with a dark liquid. 

“Is that-” 

“Yes. One ran past here, it was already inquired and dripping blood. Poor thing probably got attacked by another wolf. But lucky for us, it was too busy focusing on not dying to attack. It left behind puddles of blood, and I managed to collect them.” 

Riddle looked like a small child who had just learned their birthday was coming early this year. 

“Congratulations Adelaide, I know longer think of you as a worthless whore,” he said tauntingly as he snatched the vial out of her hand. 

“Love you too Riddle. Can we head back to the castle now? I’ve had enough adventure for one night,” Adelaide decided. 

“Yes, I agree. All of you are forbidden to talk about this to anyone,” Riddle commanded. 

“What? Why not?” I asked. Riddle flashed me a stern look, but it faltered as he spoke to me. 

“Well for starters, we’re not allowed to be anywhere near the forest. And until I figure out why the Numus were here, and who the man that took you was, I don’t want this spread around. Will all of you be able to keep your mouth shut?” Adelaide and Lestrange assured him that they would. Riddle turned to me. 

“And you, Ophelia? Do I have your word?” 

“Fine. But I want something in return,” I told him. He raised an eyebrow, amused with me. 

“Humor me, darling.” 

“Whatever you’re threatening Abraxas with; stop. I know you’ve told him to stay away from me, which I don’t like. He’s my friend, and I should be allowed to talk with him.” Riddle let out a long sigh, clearly not pleased with my request. 

“Alright. _But_ if you tell anyone, even Prewett, I’ll kill him, Malfoy, and her,” he decided, gesturing towards my best friend. Adelaide giggled nervously. 

“He’s just joking,” she assured me as we started back towards the castle. I nodded my head, even though I wasn’t quite sure. The group of us were all incredibly dirty and disheveled-looking. Even the Slytherin Prefect Riddle had a bit of mud caked to his sweater. 

As we quietly shuffled across the grounds, I pondered with the fact that I knew so little about Riddle. He had mentioned recognizing one of the Numus members, which I planned to ask him about later. I didn’t want to push my luck with him, seeing as he had been relatively civil with me so far tonight. 

I also wondered as to why my Boggart was now Sage in a state of distress. Obviously, I loved and cared for her dearly, but I had always thought Boggart’s didn’t work in that way. It must’ve been because Cian’s father had used a type of imitation, and not a true Boggart. 

Adelaide and Lestrange were in a good mood, holding hands and chatting cheerfully as we walked back. Riddle was also quite content; he had gotten his werewolf blood. 

The full-moon cast a silvery-light over the castle, mixing with the misty air. The fog had cleared up quite a bit, which meant the stars were visible. I kept finding myself staring up at the sky; a natural inclination I had. 

“What are you looking at, darling?” Riddle asked suddenly. I returned my gaze back down to Earth and smiled at him. 

“Circlet of Pisces. It’s one of my favorite constellations, and you can only see if for a few days towards the end of October,” I explained. The other two members of our group stopped walking as well, to look up towards the sky. 

“It’s the one below the Great Square of Pegasus,” I told Adelaide. Although she wasn’t as into it as me, she had taken Astronomy for five years, which meant she knew the basics of the patterns in the night-sky. She pointed it out to her boyfriend, although he seemed more interested in studying her pretty face. 

“Alcott, did you know I have five Aries placements in my birth chart? I know you have a Venus Aries, right?” I tried to block out my friend’s voice, wanting to focus on the majesty above us. 

“Where am I supposed to be looking?” asked Riddle in a soft-spoken voice. 

“Under that super bright star, to the left of the Moon.” He squinted his eyes as he tried to find it, but let out an exasperated sigh a few seconds later. 

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about. They all look the same.” Instinctively, I reached out to grab his hand, tugging him closer to me. 

“Here, you can see it better from where I’m standing. See, it’s the constellation in the shape of a circle. Can you see it now?” I used my opposite hand to point it out to the best of my ability. 

“Yes. Pisces, isn’t that the two fish?” 

“Well, yes. But this is the _Circlet_ of Pisces. It’s one of my favorites, I like how unified the stars in it look. Makes me feel grounded, knowing that there’s some order out there,” I explained to him. 

Both Riddle and I had our heads tilted upwards towards the sky, when I heard Adelaide giggle and whisper something to Lestrange. She was staring at my hand, which was still intertwined with Riddle’s. I hadn’t even realized that he had interlocked his fingers with mine. I quickly pulled away from him and cleared my throat awkwardly. 

“We should get going. I’m exhausted,” I muttered quietly. Lestrange and Adelaide were in the middle of a fit of laughter, which was quickly silenced with a threatening glare from Riddle. 

The rest of the walk back, I had clammy palms and flushed cheeks. I needed to break my unfortunate habit of holding everyone’s hand. Or maybe I just needed a real boyfriend. 

Adelaide insisted that her and I could get back to our dorms alone, so we said goodbye to the boys outside of their common room. Riddle and I shared a long stare as our friends kissed each other feverishly for a few moments, as if they wouldn’t be able to see each other tomorrow morning. 

“Have a good night Riddle,” I said to him with a soft smile. 

“You as well, darling,” he mumbled as him and Lestrange turned their backs on us to pass through the wall leading into their common room. 

As Adelaide and I snuck back to the Ravenclaw tower, she thanked me over-and-over again for going to the forest with her. I assured her it was no big deal, as if I hadn’t been kidnapped for a few hours. 

After a hot shower, I fell asleep quickly in between my silky sheets. I dreamt of being chased by a werewolf that had Riddle’s voice and Lestrange’s face.


	13. twelve

By the third week of November, I was incredibly relieved that I had never taken a liking to Quidditch. After Gryffindor lost to Slytherin, another massive party was thrown by the Slytherins. I saw more physical fights break out that night then I’d ever seen in an entire term before. I left early with Corrina, (who was in a drunken and angry state, and decided to try and hex Evan Rosier.) I had to practically drag her back to her dormitory, seeing as she had been hit with about ten Jelly-Leg Jinxes. 

Cindy and Raymond split-up, deciding that neither of them really harbored any true feelings for the other. They ended on decent terms, until Cindy started seeing the seventh-year captain of the Hufflepuff team. Raymond decided that she was a traitor, and he no longer had any desire to speak with her. 

Corrina had started spending long hours in my common room, helping Raymond and Adelaide conceive a strategy that would allow them to beat Slytherin in the next match. I liked having my cousin around, so I frequently sat with them as they discussed plays and broomsticks. 

Tensions between our houses were incredibly high the week before the game. Adelaide told me that she had started having sex with Lestrange every chance possible, hoping that he would be tired out by the time the match rolled around. Raymond was all for this; he no longer whispered jokes to me anytime that they came out of a broom closet, with their ties undone and their foreheads sweaty. 

Riddle had kept up his end of our bargain; Abraxas was now allowed to be within ten feet of me. Him and I spent most of our time together working on Ancient Runes. The workload from that class had increased drastically from last year, and we were constantly being overworked. 

Riddle and I now spoke to each other in Potion’s class, which made completing our assignments much easier. He had started to act a bit nicer around me. I figured he must’ve felt bad that I got kidnapped while running errands for him. 

I still hadn’t been able to discover a work-around the whole marriage thing. Raymond had suggested asking our parents if him and I could wed, leaving Sarah and Riddle for each other. Even though I had no romantic feelings towards Raymond, I would much prefer him as a husband to Riddle. He had written a letter home, and now we were patiently waiting for a response. 

The Friday before the big game, we were brewing Pepperup potions in class. Riddle and I were waiting for our cauldron to heat up when he asked me if I planned on attending the match tomorrow. 

“I pretty much have to. Joslyn and I promised Corrina we’d sit in the Gryffindor section with her; it’s the closest to the pitch, and she likes being able to yell at the players,” I told him as I fiddled with the bicorn horn. 

“Corrina. That’s your cousin, correct?” 

“Yeah, on my father’s side. Do you have any cousins?” I was almost-positive that he didn’t, but I asked anyway. 

“No, I don’t. I’m the last of the Gaunt bloodline, besides my Uncle Morfin.” I shuddered at the mention of him, remembering the awful way he taunted me at the dinner party all those months ago. This would further explain his family’s desperation for him to marry, if he truly was the last of them. The Sterling line definitely wasn’t dying out soon, seeing as I had six cousins and two siblings. 

“Hey, what’s your opinion on Sarah Yaxley?” I asked, changing the subject. He gave me an inquisitive look. 

“Not very high. I slept with her once in our fourth year, and she kept trying to talk to me the entire time. Why do you ask?” 

“No reason. Have you fucked all of Slytherin house?” For a splint second, I thought Riddle was going to choke me again. But he let out a dark chuckle and turned to look at me. 

“Between Adelaide and I, we’ve probably covered everyone within a year or so of our grade.” 

Well, I didn’t doubt the accuracy of that statement. Adelaide had a knack for Slytherins of all genders. According to her, 

“ _All of them are kinky as hell. That’s like a requirement to be in Slytherin._ ” 

Last year Adelaide and Raymond had gotten into a tussle over some Slytherin girl named Layla, as they both had a crush on her. Raymond ended up winning her over, which led to Adelaide getting with Julian Black, in an attempt to make Raymond mad. It had worked pretty well. 

“I will admit, I prefer her with Lestrange over Black. Black can’t cast a decent Silencing Charm to save his life, and his dorm is directly next to mine,” Riddle whispered to me. I let out a snort that quickly turned into a laugh. 

“Merlin, I wish I didn’t know what you were talking about. Once I walked into our _shared_ bathroom while they were going at it. The unfortunate image of Black’s bare ass against my shower was actually a bit terrifying,” I told Riddle, which made him shudder in disgust. 

“Did someone say my name?” I heard Adelaide call from behind us. I gave Riddle a wink as I pressed a finger to my lips, which only caused me to laugh even harder. I suppose that my laughing made him laugh, because within minutes the whole class was staring at us. I had to dig my fingernails into his arm to quiet him down. 

Sometimes, it was incredibly hard to know which Riddle I would be dealing with. The charming and sarcastic one, the sullen and silent one, or the aggressive and angry one. His mood was constantly changing, which meant I had to constantly monitor how I acted around him. I wished that he wasn’t so hard to analyze. 

The next morning I was awoken bright and early by Joslyn. I was dragged out of bed and forced to help her apply winged eyeliner, since her hand was too shaky to do it herself, seeing as she had already consumed a few cups of coffee. 

A few hours later, I was huddled amongst a sea of red and gold, trying my very best not to freeze. I had made the mistake of wearing my thin slacks instead of my woolen ones, so my legs were practically shaking from the cold. I was in my Ravenclaw sweater of course, matching with Joslyn. 

The game was actually pretty intense, it lasted almost a full two-hours. Slytherin ended up beating Ravenclaw by a margin of only ten points. Adelaide was pretty mad, but surprisingly enough Raymond didn’t seem to care that much. When I caught up with him in the common room, his face was fixed in a giddy smile. 

“Oh well, it’s only Quidditch. There are more important things in life, I suppose. Do you have any plans for tonight?” 

Raymond and I ended up at the library that evening, deciding to work on our Transfiguration essay that was due soon. It was incredibly hard for me to get any actual work done, since my friend was constantly asking random questions about love, life and existence in general. This was incredibly strange, and honestly a bit concerning. 

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we just left? Packed our bags and ran away to America. We could live in New York and start a business where we sell potions to Muggles,” he responded to my question, which had been about something entirely unrelated. I sighed and put my quill down, turning to face him. 

“Raymond, where is all of this coming from? Is everything alright?” I asked sincerely. He shrugged as he continued to stare off into space. 

“I’m just thinking, Ophelia. Why are we tying ourselves down? With school, and marriage, and family? What’s stopping us from just discarding it all?” The library was fairly busy, so we were near a table of third-years. I lowered my voice, not wanting them to hear my next words. 

“Did you take anything? Performance enhancers or something of the sort?” 

“Ha! No, I’m completely sober. I’ve just decided that there’s so much more out there for us. Like this essay, why are we even doing it? What’s the point?” He suddenly picked up his parchment and tore it cleanly in half. I looked at him in shock. 

“Raymond! We’ve spent days working on that!” I hissed as I quickly used my wand to bind his essay back together. He shrugged and frowned. 

“I’m a bit disappointed with you. I thought you agreed with me on stuff like this. We always used to talk of running away together, when we were younger and things got bad.” 

He was right, we did. Even last year, when his parents had decided he was to marry Sarah, we almost left Hogwarts with a plan to go to France. But Joslyn convinced us to at least graduate school before we did anything drastic, and we ended up calling it all off. 

“Well, we’re practically of-age now. We have responsibilities, and a bit of common sense,” I said with a forced laugh. 

“Since when? Phelia, only a few months ago, we got drunk off our arses and danced around on the roof-top of Malfoy Manor. You didn’t care much about ‘responsibility’ then. Why the sudden change of heart?” 

Truthfully, I had been wondering the same thing myself. Ever since this term started, things felt different. Maybe it was the steady rise of Grindelwald’s power, or maybe the NEWT-level classes. Or maybe, it was the fact that I now felt the need to protect my sister at all costs. If I ran away, I would surely be disowned. Sage would be considered my parents’ eldest daughter, and she would be the one forced to wed Riddle. 

“I don’t know. But maybe it’s about time that you grow up as well,” I told him solemnly. He snorted and turned to meet my gaze. 

“Oh really? You want me to give up hope? Marry a girl I barely know and start having children just to please my family?” He was still using a light-hearted tone, so I couldn’t quite tell if he was being sarcastic or not. 

“No, you don’t have to marry Sarah. We can get married, finish school, and then move somewhere far away,” I told him. I felt as if I was trying to convince myself of my own words more than I was trying to persuade him. 

“You know that won’t work, Ophelia. My parents are going to write back and say no. You’re living in a fantasy world,” he snapped at me with a sigh of desperation. I felt my fingers clench tightly around my quill. 

“ _I’m_ the one living in a fantasy world? You’re the one who just asked me to move to America minutes ago!” I exclaimed. 

“Please, Ophelia. You may be perfectly content having to wed Riddle, but I’m not.” He had raised his voice now, which caused me to do the same. 

“Oh, so that’s what this is about? You’re jealous of Riddle?” I hissed at him. He stood up abruptly, his eyes lowering and his face pinched. 

“For Merlin’s sake! That is not why I offered to marry you! Not everyone is madly in love with you Ophelia, even though you seem to think so!” 

“I do not think that! If anything, you’re the one with the big ego! How many girls have you fucked already this term? Three? Five? Ten? You live inside of your head, thinking that you can ride through life on nothing more than meaningless sex and cheap drugs.” I was now standing as well, mere inches from him. 

“That’s not true!” 

“Oh really? You know, it makes perfect sense why your parents arranged things with Sarah for you. They know how quickly you move through relationships, you clearly don’t understand how commitment works!” I knew that I had gone too far as I watched his face fall. 

“Shut up. Shut up, Ophelia. I don’t, I haven’t, I don’t even _like_ -” he shouted at me. His voice has started to waver, and he couldn't even bring himself to finish his sentence. He didn’t seem angry anymore, he just seemed sad. He quickly gathered up his books and slung his bag over his shoulder. As he started to walk away, I called out after him. 

“Raymond, wait. I’m sorry,” I said in a shaky whisper. But he continued walking, leaving me by myself. I had said had clearly triggered something in him. I hadn’t meant to upset him this badly, but I had. I put my head down on the desk, trying to hold back the tears brimming behind my eyes. 

Raymond was right, I had changed. I was no longer stuck in my head, I was stuck in a hopeless situation that I had been trying my very best to ignore. I couldn’t even be a good friend anymore, seeing as I was so focused on myself. My breaths came up in short gasps as I tried to silence the sounds of my sobs. I wanted nothing more than to disappear into the bookshelf, but of course, I wasn’t that lucky. 

“Ophelia? Is that you?” I heard the deep voice call out. I took a deep breath and straightened myself up, turning to face Riddle. He was holding a few dusty books, standing a few feet away from me. 

“Hi. Did you need something?” I asked in the most composed voice that I could muster. Riddle studied me for a few seconds, taking in my puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. 

“Have you been crying?” he asked quietly. I quickly shook my head. I didn’t want to seem weak in front of him. 

“No.” He slammed his books down onto the table and looked down at me. 

“Yes, you have. Are you going to tell me what happened, or am I going to have to force it out of you?” I groaned and turned myself away from him. 

“I’m fine. It was nothing. What did you need?” With that, I felt his cold touch on my cheek, yanking my head back towards him. 

“What. Happened?” he growled at me. I pushed him off of me and jumped out of my chair. 

“I’m not telling you! You can’t just storm in and expect me to tell you every single thing that ever happens to me!” I shouted. I had tested his patience far enough, seeing as I felt myself suddenly slammed against the wall. 

I stayed silent as he glared at me. He seemed to be debating something inside his mind, as he didn’t speak to me for almost a full minute. I could feel the eyes of the third-years on us, but I knew that they were all too afraid of Riddle to say or do anything. The air between us was tense and piercing. He reached his left hand up to my chin, and rested his fingers underneath it, in more of a comforting gesture than a threatening one. 

“Alright, you don’t have to tell me. But, don’t raise your voice at me ever again,” he told me calmly. I replied with a small nod, seeing as he was still touching my face. I don’t know why he did that so often. I felt a bit bad for shouting at him, seeing as he hadn’t really done anything too atrocious. For some strange reason, I no longer felt the crumbling despair and sadness that had plagued my mind only moments before. 

“I was a bit surprised to see you here, but now I’m actually quite happy about the fact. Were you doing anything important?” he asked as he gestured towards the parchment and ink bottles on the desk. 

“No, not really,” I told him with a shrug. By now he had backed away from me a bit, and I was no longer back-to-back with the wall. Riddle smiled and handed me one of the books. The title read: 

_Definitives that are actually infinitive_

“I’ve collected some books that I believe might be helpful to us. They all focus on loopholes and flaws of certain types of magic,” he explained. I quickly figured out what he was on about, and I smiled to myself. 

“Would any of these happen to talk about Unbreakable Vows?’ 

“I’m hoping that at least one of them will. It’ll take a bit of time to read through them all, which is why I suppose you could help me,” he decided. At this point, all I really wanted was to get my mind off my argument with Raymond, even if that meant spending time with Riddle. 

“Yes, of course I’ll help you. Is it alright if we work here?” I asked as I hastily cleared the desk. Riddle sat down in the chair that Raymond had been in and passed the first book to me. 

“We have about an hour until the library closes, but if I ask, we’ll be allowed to stay as long as we like,” he told me. “Let me know if you read anything that could be of importance to us.” 

I assured him that I would as I flipped open the large book. It was over eight-hundred pages, and it was the slimmest out of the stack. This was going to be a long night.


	14. thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW// blood and a bit of fantasy violence

Riddle was incredibly skilled when it came to manipulating people to get what he wanted. 

He had easily convinced the librarian that he and I were doing a research project for extra-credit, and she happily told us that we could stay as long as we needed. She made us promise that we would lock up after we left the library, before she herself left to talk to the Headmaster. 

Riddle and I sat in comfortable silence, both of us busy reading. Every now and then, one of us would find something of interest and show the other, but a solution to our problem never materialized. Even though big words and complicated theories were thrown at me by the book, the back of my mind still lingered on my earlier fight with my friend. I had decided that I had been in the wrong, and that I needed to apologize to him. Although, I wasn’t quite sure how I should approach him, and what exactly I needed to say. 

Normally, I would go to Adelaide for something like this. But seeing as she was probably all the way in the Slytherin dorms, I figured she wouldn’t be much help. 

“Riddle?” I asked suddenly. He looked up from his book to address me. 

“Did you find something, darling?” 

“No, nothing new. Er, can I ask you a question?” Riddle smiled eagerly and turned his full attention towards me. 

“Anything you want, love.” I raised a brow and giggled. 

“You’ve never called me _that_ before. I think I prefer _darling_ ,” I said in my best impression of his sultry voice. He glared at me, which only made me giggle some more. 

“I do not sound like that. And for your information, I call lots of girls ‘love’ and "darling.’ You’re not special,” he told me as he pouted. 

“Yes, that’s exactly what you sound like. And, _yes_ , I’ve noticed a few of your mannerisms by now. You should really try to break that habit though, people are going to start thinking that you’re madly in love with me. You should just use my first name,” I teased. 

“You’re one to talk. The only time you’ve ever used my first name is when you’re drunk,” he reminded me. I sighed and playfully flipped a lock of hair behind my shoulder. He was right about that. 

“Yeah, well I refer to all boys using their surnames, except for my younger brother and a few close friends,” I told him truthfully. Riddle gave me a quizzical look for a moment before speaking. 

“What did you want to ask me in the first place?” I felt my own smile falter, my thoughts shifting from a playful state to a more serious one. 

“Oh. When you get in a fight with one of your friends, what do you do?” 

“They apologize to me and beg for my forgiveness,” he said nonchalantly. I honestly couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. 

“But what if you’re the one who messed up? What if you did something wrong?” Riddle sighed as he leaned back in his seat, casually resting his hands atop the desk. 

“ _That_ never happens. Very rarely am I wrong, and even more rarely do I feel as if I was wrong enough to apologize to the person I offended. Why do you ask?” I scoffed under my breath. I forgot that Riddle didn’t have 

friends, he had groupies. I was an idiot for asking him of all people for friendship advice. 

“Er, well I think I messed up things with Raymond. We got in an awful argument earlier today, and I think it was my fault. The thing is, him and I rarely argue in a serious way,” I admitted. Riddle stayed quiet for a moment, fiddling with his wand as he concentrated on my words. 

“I see. Do you want me to talk to him for you?” he offered. He seemed genuine, even though that was a pretty awful idea. 

“No, that wouldn’t help in the slightest,” I said with a long sigh. My situation felt a bit hopeless, although that was probably just an exaggeration of my mind. 

“Can I ask what started the disagreement between you two?” 

“He had been acting super weird since the Quidditch game. At first, I thought maybe he was just upset about losing. But he started talking about wanting to run away, start a whole new life, stuff like that,” I explained. Riddle’s hair was quite messy today, although his dark curls still looked sleek and shiny. I actually liked his hair alot, but of course I would never admit that. 

“It sounds as if he’s in love with you,” he said as he ran his thumb over the rough edge of the desk. 

“No, that can’t be it. If he was in love with me then he wouldn’t be pursuing about ten other girls,” I scoffed. Riddle shrugged and turned to look at me again, his onyx eyes meeting my amber-toned ones. 

“I was just teasing you, darling. Love isn’t even a real thing, just a combination of strong emotions that can confuse one’s brain.” 

“You don’t believe in love?” I asked. He shook his head and turned to reach into his bag. 

“Do you mind if I smoke?” 

“Go for it.” 

I watched as he pulled out a packet of cigarettes, selected one, and lit it with the flick of his wand. My late grandfather had often smoked cigars, and the smell of tobacco was somewhat comforting to me. 

“I think that love exists. I feel love for my sister, my brother, and my friends. I know that I used to love my parents, although in recent years I’m not quite sure.” Riddle took a long drag from his cigarette before responding. 

“That only proves my point further. Everyone that you think you ‘love’ will eventually let you down.” 

“That’s a bit depressing, to think of it like that. But in the end, we all die. We might as well spend our time here trying to form bonds and fall in love,” I said to him. He smiled softly at me, a hit of a mischievous idea behind his eyes. 

“That’s not entirely true. There are ways around death,” he told me. 

“Not very good ones. Would you really want to be a ghost for all of eternity? Floating around Hogwarts and being constantly bugged for directions by first-years?” Riddle grimaced slightly as he took in my words. 

“Yes, I suppose that does sound dreadful,” he decided as he brought the cigarette between his long fingers back up to his lips. 

“I appreciate you telling me about your fight with Prewett. If you desire so, you can ask me a question about my life,” he offered. 

Well, this was definitely good. Riddle had obviously put two-and-two together, and realized that Raymond had been the reason I was upset earlier. There was so much I wanted to know about Riddle, but one particular question stood out in my mind. 

“Could you tell me about your parents? You’ve never mentioned them before.” And it was true, even the rumors that spread through the halls didn’t have a clue of the story of Riddle’s parentage. All that any of us knew is that they were dead. The boy sitting next to me was the only Riddle that I knew of, so I figured that his father must’ve been foreign. There weren’t any pure-blooded families in England with his surname 

“Surprisingly enough, it’s actually quite a simple story. My mother died while giving birth to me, and my father disappeared shortly afterwards. I never knew either of them,” he told me quietly. 

“He disappeared?” 

“Yes. Once my mother passed, he came to the realization that he no longer desired to have a child. My uncle and grandfather detested him, and they hold a grudge against my mother for dying. But they decided that I was of some value to them, so they raised me,” he explained. He was talking about all of this very casually, like it was just some sort of fairytale, and not his own life. 

“Have you ever tried to find your father?” 

“My grandfather believes him to be dead. Even if he was not, I have no desire to ever meet him. He was weak and a coward,” he spat out. Anger flashed behind his eyes, although for once it wasn’t directed towards me. He had finished his cigarette, but the smell of smoke was still strong. I felt myself inclined to reach out and squeeze his hand gently. I truly did feel sympathy for him. As much as I disliked my parents, I was grateful that I at least knew them. 

“I’m sorry, Tom. I had no idea,” I whispered. His eyes flashed between looking at me, to looking down at our hands. In a sudden movement, he interlocked our fingers together and pressed his thumb atop of my hand. 

“You’re still wearing his bracelet,” he scrutinized as he ran his thumb over the gold chain on my wrist. I had completely forgotten about Raymond’s charm bracelet still on my wrist. Riddle looked up at me for permission, and I gave him a slight nod. He unclasped the chain and let it fall off of my arm and onto the desk. 

“That’s better. Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” he whispered softly. 

I had always considered myself pretty, and over the years many boys had complimented my looks. But hearing Riddle tell me this was something else entirely. 

My brain felt all swirly and it seemed as if I wasn’t thinking logically. Riddle had brought his other hand up to caress my face. It was as if a force of gravity was pulling my body closer to his. Our faces were inches away, my nose whirling with the scent of smoke and his cologne. My breath hitched as I made the decision to lean in even closer, wanting to press my lips against his. 

Before they had the chance to meet, a sudden loud noise erupted from the other side of the library. 

I whipped my head around to face the entrance, where Lestrange was standing in the wide doorway. He was panting heavily, as if he had just ran here from the other side of the castle. He took a second to take in just how close Riddle and I were before he quickly clamped his hands over his eyes. 

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt anything!” he said with a nervous laugh. Embarrassed, I tried to pull my hand away from Riddle’s, but he didn’t let me. 

“Lestrange, _what_ could possibly be so important that you felt the need to bother me when I specifically instructed that I was to be left alone for the rest of the evening?” Riddle growled menacingly. His grip on me was so tight that I was starting to lose feeling in my hand. 

“I know, and again, I’m really sorry. But something went wrong with one of the curses; Maya hit Malfoy with it and now he won’t stop bleeding,” Lestrange explained quickly. Riddle let out a long sigh. 

“Clearly, I can’t trust you idiots with anything. Your girlfriend is somewhat competent when it comes to healing, was she not able to handle it?” 

“She’s trying, but none of us know where you even found that book with the curses. She doesn’t know the counter, and all of the normal Healing Spells aren’t working.” I perked up at the mention of Adelaide. 

“What are you two on about?” The boys exchanged a momentary glance between each other. 

“Lestrange can explain it to you later. Stay here, I’ll be back soon,” Riddle instructed as he grabbed his wand and stood up quickly. He had finally let go of my hand. 

“No, I’m coming with you. Abraxas is my friend too,” I told him as I stood up as well. Although I had no idea what was happening nor where we were going, I wanted to be involved. It was clear that Riddle didn’t want me tagging along, but for once he didn’t argue. 

“Fine. Get your wand, darling, you’re most likely going to want it,” he ordered. I picked it up off the desk and tucked it into my sleeve. The three of us quickly dashed out of the library, heading towards the main corridors. It took us a full ten minutes to get all the way to the seventh floor, which only made me more confused as to where we were heading. As Lestrange started to pace in front of a tapestry, I finally put the clues together. 

We were going to the Room of Requirement, a shape-shifting room that was available when one was in dire need. Throughout my years at Hogwarts, I’d been to a few parties there. As the wall faded away to reveal a door, I followed the boys inside. 

The room wasn’t anything extravagant, just an open space dotted with chairs, tables, couches, various statues, and small bookshelves. Abraxas was laying on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding him. Adelaide was crouched down next to him, her hands and uniform stained with the red fluid. About five others were standing around them, all Slytherins in my year. 

“Out of my way,” Riddle demanded as he announced his presence. He knelt down besides Adelaide and whipped out his wand. I pushed my way passed everyone else to join my friend on the ground. Adelaide looked a bit surprised to see me, but she didn’t say anything. 

The blood spilling out of Abraxas seemed to have originated from his left shoulder. His shirt had been torn off and discarded on the floor. 

“He lost consciousness about a minute ago. Whenever I try to heal the actual wound, it just backfires and more blood starts pouring out,” she explained to Riddle. 

“Which curse was he hit with?” 

“ _Sanguis Cruor_. I meant to hit one of the statues, but he got in the way at the last moment,” Maya Nott admitted. 

“He’s going to die if we don’t do something quickly,” I shouted, wanting to be heard over the other loud voices in the room. 

“We’re going to need more blood, he’s already lost too much. Does anyone by any chance know his blood type?” asked Adelaide as she glanced up at the others. 

“He’s a pure-blood, duh,” said Julian Black. Adelaide glared at him, although I thought he genuinely thought that’s what she had meant. 

Besides being incredibly talented with magical healing, I also knew that Adelaide knew quite a bit about Muggle medical practices; her father was a doctor. Riddle was rifling through an old book, muttering to himself. 

“I think I found something that might help. Adelaide, clear the blood off his shoulder,” he ordered. She used his torn shirt to mop and dab at his wound as Riddle gently pressed his wand to Abraxas. He started to recite some Latin phrases as wisps of white smoke poured out of his wand. I didn’t even realize that I had been holding my breath until my chest started to hurt from the lack of oxygen. 

After a few moments, it looked as if Riddle had successfully closed the wound. Abraxas’ chest had been cleared of most of the blood, which revealed multiple purple splotches on his upper chest. They were clearly lovebites; so I made a mental note to ask him who the lucky girl was later. 

“There, it’ll stop bleeding now,” he decided. I watched wipe his hands on a towel that someone had pulled from somewhere unknown. 

“That’s a start, but he still needs blood to replace all that he lost, which looks to be about three or four pints,” Adelaide explained. 

“I know that they have blood-like substitutes in the hospital wing, I had to have some transfused last year because of a Quidditch accident,” Rosier noted. 

“If we take him to the matrons then they’ll ask questions,” Riddle added. It was obvious that whatever curse had been used was an illegal one. “So unless you’d all like to be expelled, I’d quickly think of another idea.” 

“What about the blood-substitute we made in Potions a while ago? Would that work?” asked Maya. 

“It would take at least an hour to brew, and chances are that it won’t. It’s really only used for vampires to drink,” I explained. By now, I was really worried. Abraxas’ face was even paler than normal, and his breaths came in strained gasps. “There’s also the blood-replenishing potion, but that’s really advanced and takes days to brew.” 

“Then we’re going to have to do this the Muggle way, then. Do _any_ of you know your blood types?” Adelaide implored. 

“How can we trust Muggle science? Abraxas would most definitely rather have magic be used,” Julian said. This time, both Adelaide and I glared at him. 

“I can assure you that Abraxas would prefer that I use a Muggle technique over letting him die,” she snapped. “My father is a surgeon, and I’ve read all his books hundreds of times. I know damn well what I’m doing, Julian. How about you make yourself useful and go get my medical kit, because I’m going to need it.” Julian huffed, but he stayed silent as he went outside the room to summon Adelaide’s supplies. 

“Alright, all of you listen up. Maya, go to Slughorn’s personal stores and steal a Calming Draught. The fourth-years made them last week, so there should be plenty. Alcott, you and Evan get Malfoy up on one of those couches. Since we don’t know Malfoy’s blood type, we’re going to need O- blood. It’s the only type that all the other types are compatible with,” she expounded. 

“Adelaide, I think that I’m an O type blood,” I realized suddenly. A few years ago, I remember being at her house during vacation. She had gotten a medical kit for Christmas, and one of the things included was a little strip that tested your blood type. We had both pricked our fingers and pressed drops of our blood to the sheet, and I was sure that I had been an O-something. 

“Positive or negative? O+ blood is only compatible with about half of blood types,” my friend told me. 

“It was negative, at least I’m pretty sure.” Adelaide looked around to scan everyone else’s faces. 

“None of you know your blood type?” Everyone shook their heads and she let out a sigh. 

“Then you’re the best bet, Ophelia. You need to drink a few glasses of water, and eat something small. Then go sit over by-” My friend’s instructions were cut off by Riddle. 

“You’re not taking any of her blood. That sounds incredibly dangerous,” he said as he glared at Adelaide. She groaned and rolled her eyes. 

“I promise you, it’s not. Muggles donate blood all the time, and even I’ve done it before. I volunteered at a blood bank last summer, so I know the procedures and everything,” she assured him. 

“I don’t care. I’m telling you that you’re not going to use her blood. Find someone else.” For a few minutes, the two of them jabbered back and forth. I glanced over to see Abraxas being hoisted up onto the couch, and something tugged at my heartstrings. I had known him practically my whole life. He had always been there for me when I was in trouble, and I sure as hell was going to be there for him. 

“Riddle, he might die if we don’t do this. I have to, I want to give him some of my blood. It’s my body, and you can’t stop me. Besides, I know that Abraxas would do the same for me,” I told him firmly. Riddle looked incredibly conflicted. He looked between me, his unconscious friend, and Adelaide. He finally let out a grumbly sigh. 

“If she dies from this, I’ll kill you,” he threatened Adelaide. 

“Noted. If you want to help, find a cup or container and summon some water for her,” she told him. Reluctantly, he summoned a goblet from the back of the room and filled it with water using his wand. Julian had just come back, and Adelaide rushed over to him to grab the large box he was carrying. Riddle didn’t take his eyes off me as I gulped down the water. 

“Can I ask what your posse was doing here tonight?” I was curious as to why all of this had even happened. 

“I found a book about dark magic, and I wanted them to test out the spells inside,” he explained. 

“That’s quite dangerous, even if they were supposed to just be using them on the statues and such,” I said with a scoff. I will admit, they were clever for using the Room of Requirement instead of a more public area like their common room. 

“That’s why _I_ wasn’t testing them out,” he said as he shrugged. His hair was disheveled and his sleeves were stained crimson. So were my stockings, as well as my fine leather shoes. 

It had to be close to midnight. I wondered where Raymond was right now, seeing as he wasn’t with Adelaide like I assumed. 

“Would you like me to hold onto that for you? It would be a shame if it got blood all over it,” Riddle asked as he pointed to my locket. 

“There’s no need, it’s goblin-made. It was my grandmother’s,” I explained. I had been gifted the necklace on my tenth birthday by Grandmother Sterling. It was a family heirloom, with the Sterling crest carved into the back. It was most definitely the most prized thing that I owned, perhaps maybe my wand. 

“Is there a picture inside of it?” I reached to pop it open, revealing that the inside was empty. 

“No, although Sage has been bugging me to put a photograph of her inside. I’ve been considering passing it onto her, maybe for her next birthday,” I told him. He reached out to run his fingers over it, before snapping it shut to examine the outside. 

“I think you should keep it. It looks pretty on you, and your sister doesn’t seem the type who would enjoy fine jewelry,” he said with a small chuckle. 

“Ophelia, I’m ready for you now,” Adelaide suddenly called out. As I stood up to head over to her, Riddle pestered me one final time. 

“Are you sure that you want to do this?” 

“Riddle, last month I was kidnapped and tied up in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. Letting Adelaide take a bit of my blood is nothing,” I assured him. 

I decided not to remind him that technically, he was the reason I was even doing this.


	15. fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW// blood and needles

Adelaide had set up part of the room so that it looked a bit like a medical office. She had obviously used a bit of Transfiguration, since I highly doubted that her medical kit included all of this. Her honey-blonde hair had been tied back in a messy knot, her clothes still soaked with Abraxas’ blood. It was a bit unnerving, if I was being completely honest. 

“Okay, so what I’m going to do is stick you with a needle. It’ll be attached to a little tube that'll allow the blood to flow into here,” she explained as she showed me a large glass vial that had lines with number markings scribbled all over it. I had never been one to fear needles, but the idea of getting blood sucked out of me was still a bit daunting. Everyone was circled around us, and I felt a bit stuffy. 

“All of you, go tend to Malfoy on the couch. The Calming Draught will have stabilized his vitals for the time being. Except you Alcott, I might need a bit of help.” Adelaide decided. 

“I’m staying,” demanded Riddle as he pulled up a chair next to mine. Adelaide shrugged, figuring it was better not to argue with him. 

“You’re going to have to take off your sweater,” she said as she fumbled around with some of her supplies. I peeled it off quickly, and pushed it into Riddle’s lap. 

“She’s not taking anything else off,” Riddle articulated protectively. 

“Yes, she is. You have to be naked when your blood is drawn,” Adelaide told him. Before Riddle could object, Lestrange spoke up. 

“She’s just teasing. Let’s get this over with, before Riddle has an aneurysm.” Adelaide laughed and gave me a smirk as she started to roll my sleeve to expose the lower half of my arm. My wrist was unusually bare, which made me come to a realization. I quickly whipped my head to the side to speak to Riddle. 

“I left my bracelet in the library,” I whispered to him hastily. 

“I’ll get it for you later, darling,” he assured me as he reached out to hold my hand. Adelaide and Lestrange exchanged a look. I was absolutely certain that she would tease me about this later. 

She cleaned off my forearm with rubbing alcohol and a cotton pad before bringing out the needle. She connected it with the tube and placed the vial on the nearby counter. 

“You’re going to have to let go of her. That’s just standard procedure,” she told Riddle. He squeezed my hand tighter and glared at her. 

“I will not be doing that.” 

“Well then, this is going to hurt her; if her bloodways are being obstructed in any way,” she informed him. And with that, he reluctantly let go of me. He moved his hand down to rest on my upper thigh, which made my breath hitch out of surprise. Adelaide was also surprised by this; I watched her bite her lip in analysis. 

“No, you can’t do that either. If her heart rate is all weird, then the blood won’t come out properly.” 

Riddle let out an exasperated sigh as he removed his hand from me. Adelaide smiled and turned her head towards me. I trusted my best friend wholeheartedly, but this whole blood donation concept was definitely a new one for me. I really hoped that she knew what she was doing. 

“You’re going to feel a little pinch,” she mentioned as I felt the needle pierce my skin. I watched as she fidgeted with it a bit, tapping at the tube until dark liquid started to flow from it. 

“If I were you, I wouldn’t watch. It could make you nauseous. It’ll take about thirty minutes for the vial to be full, then I’ll be able to transfer it to Malfoy,” she informed me. I heeded her warning, and turned my head so I could talk to Riddle. 

“Well, this sure is exciting,” I joked. He gave me a subdued smile in response. 

I have to admit, I was a tiny bit glad that Lestrange had interrupted us earlier. I don’t know why I had felt the urge to kiss Riddle, seeing as most of my life currently involved avoiding any romance from him. Kissing him would feel like a betrayal to myself. 

“Adelaide, I think that Malfoy’s stopped breathing!” called out Rosier from across the room. I straightened out my spine and turned in his direction. From my angle, I couldn’t see much, and seeing as there was a blood-tube in my arm, I couldn’t get up and help. 

“Fuck,” Adelaide she exclaimed as she dropped a metal instrument and dashed over to where the others were. Riddle stood up quickly. 

“You can’t just leave Ophelia here with the blood draining out of her body!” he shouted at her. 

“She’ll be fine, I think that someone who’s not breathing is a bit more of priority,” she yelled back at him. Realizing that she was right, Riddle huffed and sat back down. 

“Merlin, why can’t you ever have your friends do normal things, like playing chess? Not hunting down werewolves and nearly killing each other with ancient curses,” I groaned. 

“I’m sorry, Ophelia. I never wanted you involved with all of this,” he admitted. That wasn’t a very good excuse, but I kept quiet. What he didn’t seem to understand is that no matter how hard he tried, I would always be linked to this in some way. Seeing as my best friend was dating one of his followers, I was going to be around more frequently. 

A few minutes later, Adelaide came rushing back to us, looking incredibly anxious and fearful. 

“It’s pretty bad, he won’t last much longer without the blood transfusion.” I glanced over at the vial; it was less than a quarter of the way full. 

“Adelaide, remember that one spell we learned in Charms class last year? The one that increases the speed of flowing water?” I proposed. She nodded slowly, taking a few seconds to realize what I was insinuating. 

“Are you sure? It would cause a huge strain on the blood vessels in your arm, you’re at least going to end up with a nasty bruise,” she informed me. 

“No, absolutely not. I am not allowing that to happen,” Riddle protested. 

“Again, this isn’t up to you. Ade, do it now,” I urged. My friend hesitantly pulled out her wand. 

“Adelaide, I swear to Merlin-” Before Riddle could finish his sentence, Adelaide performed the spell. 

“ _Umor Celeritas_!” I let out a yelp as my arm was thrusted upwards by the magic, a fast stream of blood profusely shooting out into the tube. The vial was filled within seconds. 

Adelaide quickly yanked what needle out of my arm, which made me whimper in pain. Riddle looked just about ready to kill her, but before he had the chance she had rushed over to Malfoy. Riddle knelt down in front of me and grabbed at my arm, muttering a quick incantation to stop the bleeding. My arm was throbbing and my head felt light from the sudden amount of blood loss. 

“That was an increidbly stupid thing to do,” Riddle growled. 

“I know. If you’re going to yell at me, I’d do it sooner rather than later. I feel as if I might faint.” Riddle let out a sigh as he pushed his curls off of his forehead. 

“I’m not going to yell at you, darling. As much as I wish that I could, I can’t control every decision you make,” he admitted. I flashed him a soft smile. 

“We should go see what’s happening with Abraxas,” I decided as I pushed my body to stand up. 

That was a pretty dumb mistake, as my legs completely gave out. Luckily, Riddle reacted quick enough to stop me from collapsing to the ground. 

“You’re not going to be able to stand for a little while,” he confirmed as he used his wand to send one of the velvet loveseats our way. I let him momentarily lift me off my feet to place me onto the couch. He had also summoned the goblet from earlier and handed it to me. I let my body lean up against him, so close that I was practically in his lap, my legs stretched out on the sofa. 

I don’t know why I was inclined to be close to Riddle. The only boy that I ever really “cuddled” with was Raymond, and perhaps Aspen when we were younger. I suppose that amidst this stressful situation I just wanted comfort. Riddle was willing to give me it, seeing as he wrapped one arm around my waist and used the other one to stroke hair away from my face. 

He made me drink about five cups of water before he was satisfied, and he still refused to let me go help the others. I thought that he was overreacting a bit; I hadn’t lost nearly as much blood as Abraxas had. My rose perfume tingled with his sandalwood cologne, creating a surprisingly pleasant scent. His hands were usually a bit cold, but his body itself radiated a nice warmth. I let him continue to fidget with my hair as we waited. 

“Do you feel any better?” he asked after maybe five minutes or so. 

“Yeah, I’m not as dizzy. I feel like I should eat something, could you go get me something out of Adelaide’s bag? She always has snacks,” I told him. He lifted his wand, but I shook my head with a soft chuckle. 

“That won’t work, she has Anti-Summoning Charms all over her stuff.” 

“Of course she does. Okay, I’ll be right back.” I felt him press a soft kiss to my cheek before standing up and walking away. Although I couldn’t see my reflection, I knew that my face was most likely bright red. 

“Woah, what did I miss? I thought you two were practically mortal enemies,” said a stunned Adelaide. She had approached me, carrying a few bloody towels and smiling meekly at me. 

“It’s kind of confusing. Some days, I think he wants to kill me. But on days like today, he acts as if we’re dating or something,” I explained with a sigh. 

“You know Ophelia, I’m always here for you. I know I’ve been spending a lot of time on Quidditch and with Lestrange, but you’re still my best friend. And you know my favorite thing to talk about is relationships.” 

“Merlin knows _that’s_ true. Anyways, how is Abraxas? Is he going to be alright?” Adelaide’s body tensed up at my question, which made me nervous. 

“Er, he’s better than he was doing before. His body didn’t reject your blood or anything, so that’s good. I’m not sure if it’ll be enough though, he lost a ton,” she admitted dejectedly. 

“Can’t you just duplicate the amount that you already took from Ophelia?” asked Maya, who had walked by carrying a few cushions for Abraxas. 

“No, blood is one of the few things that can’t be tampered with by magic,” explained Adelaide. 

"Ade, what about Corrina? Would she have the same blood type as me? She’d most likely be willing to help,” I added. Adelaide bit her lip, thinking over my proposition. 

“Families don’t always have the same. We’d be taking a pretty big risk to even bring her here, Riddle would be furious,” she acknowledged. 

“Yes, I would be. I’d die before I’d let anyone of a rival house be involved with anything my Knights do,” said Riddle, who had just gotten back. He took his previous position next to me and handed me a small package of Choco Balls. I gave him a smile of gratitude as I started to unwrap them. 

“You know, you’re quite daft for a Prefect. You currently have not one, but two Ravenclaws in your presence,” she snapped at him. 

“Watch yourself Adelaide. You may have done a decent enough job of healing Malfoy, but I’m still your superior,” he hissed back. 

I really hated it when Riddle talked to my friends like that. I made him aware of my disapproval by rocking my body slightly to the side, so that he couldn’t wrap his arm around my middle. 

“Speaking of Malfoy, he still hasn’t regained consciousness. He needs more blood,” interjected Maya. 

“You’re going to have to take more of mine,” I decided. 

“I can’t in good faith do that. I could be putting you in danger as well,” said Adelaide. 

“For once, I agree with her. You nearly passed out the first time, darling. You still can’t even walk,” he reminded me. 

“We can’t just sit here and let Abraxas die!” I had raised my voice a bit, tired of everyone acting as if I wasn’t a part of this decision. 

“He’s not going to die, not on my watch. If we can keep him hydrated, and use a few different healing spells every hour, then his body will replenish itself. I’m going to set him up with an IV, another Muggle instrument used to transfer fluids into the bloodstream. He might have to take a few days off of classes, but we can all make up excuses for the professors,” she decided. 

“So you plan on staying here until he’s completely healed?” 

“No, that would be exhausting. There’s seven of us, so we can all take shifts. We’ll split into four groups, and swap out every few hours. I can be my own group, seeing as I’m the best at this kind of thing. Maya, you can be with Alcott. I’ll have Black and Rosier be partners, and then Ophelia and Riddle, naturally.” I was actually pretty pleased that she had put me with Riddle, seeing as I was starting to enjoy his company as of late. 

“You’re going to have to teach us how to use that Muggle medical tube you were talking about,” Maya reminded her. 

“Yes, I will. Maya, let’s go get the other boys and tell them the plan. I’ll teach the four of you how, and then Ophelia and Riddle can learn once she’s feeling a bit better.” Riddle and I were left alone with each other. He took my hand in his, resting it gently atop his knee. 

“Is this what we do now? Hold each other’s hands?” I asked quietly. 

I found myself thinking about my mother at this moment. I remembered her scolding Raymond and I at a party a couple years ago; upset that we were walking hand in hand out to the gardens. She said that it was ‘improper.’ In reality, I had been holding his hand because he was so drunk that he couldn’t walk without support. 

I wondered what she would think if she could see me now. I supposed that she would be gravely conflicted, a bit like I was. 

“I don’t know. Do you want me to _not_ hold your hand?” Riddle asked, snapping me back to present time. 

“No,” I replied as I let my head fall against his shoulder. 

“I’m worried for Abraxas.” 

“I know you are, darling. He’ll be alright,” he assured me as he gently ran his thumb in circles atop my hand. 

“I still think we should’ve just taken him to the hospital wing.” 

“If we did that, someone would’ve figured out what curse he’d been hit with. Then they’d confiscate my book, and we’d all be in trouble.” 

“Where did you get the book from? Surely, it wasn’t in the library.” Riddle glanced around for a moment, checking that everyone else was still over by Abraxas and out of earshot. 

“It was a gift, given to me from my grandfather.” I titled my head slightly so that he could see my expression of slight shock. 

“Seriously? Why would he give you something so dangerous?” 

“I don’t know. I suppose he was threatening me in a strange sort of way. He does things like this all the time, and I normally choose to ignore them,” he explained with a sigh. 

“That sounds incredibly complicated. I can’t imagine how dreadful your family dinners must be.” Riddle let out a soft chuckle as he started to tangle his fingers in my hair again. 

“Lucky for me, that rarely ever happens. I try to avoid them to the best of my ability, and they do the same. I spend most of my holiday breaks as far away from the manor as possible.” 

“I just realized that I’ve never been to your house,” I registered. 

Throughout my life, I’d been to dozens of parties, galas, and balls. Nearly every pure-blood family hosted an event at least once annually, but I couldn’t remember ever going to the Gaunt’s. 

“No, you haven’t. My grandfather would never host anything, he’s too paranoid. Convinced that everyone is trying to undermine or overthrow him. You’re not missing much, I can assure you. Our house-elves are rather surly, they’d most likely terrify you,” he teased. 

“I highly doubt that. I know that you attended the Parkinson’s New Years party last year; I remember Raymond making fun of your shoes. Anyways, him and I tried to sneak into their kitchens to nick some Firewhiskey. One of the house elves caught us, and I genuinely thought that he was going to murder us,” I told him as I bit back laughter. 

“What was wrong with my shoes?” asked Riddle with a frown. 

“Most likely, nothing. Raymond’s just critical like that,” I explained as I giggled. 

Unexpectedly, my face fell at the thought of my friend. Riddle noticed, and squeezed my hand in re-assurance. 

“Don’t worry about him, Ophelia. He’d be an idiot to not reconcile with you. He’ll most likely be pleading for your attention by this time tomorrow.” 

I reached out towards Riddle’s arm and pushed his sleeve back slightly, checking his wristwatch. It was half-past one in the morning. 

“Are you tired, darling?” 

"A bit. But I’ll just drink an extra cup of coffee at breakfast, and I’ll be fine,” I assured him. 

“Well, drink as much coffee as you need to be up by seven. You two need to be here from seven to nine in the morning tomorrow,” called out Adelaide’s voice. She had finished instructing the others, and had made her way over to us. 

I had to admit, Adelaide was the definition of effortless beauty. Even after all the blood, sweat, and tears that had taken place tonight, she still was pretty enough to be on the cover of a fashion magazine. 

“Are you feeling alright now?” she asked. 

“Yeah, my arm is still sore but other than that I’m fine.” I felt Riddle softly caress the skin of my left arm as I mentioned this. His sudden touch made my stomach flip, but in a pleasant way. 

“Alright, once we’re done here, go to our bathroom and look in the third drawer down. There’s a clear tube with white liquid in it. Put that on your am, and it should help with the bruising. Riddle, help Ophelia up. I need to show you two how to use the IV,” she directed. He happily obliged, wrapping an arm around my waist to support me. 

The dizziness in my head and weakness in my legs was long gone, but I didn’t say anything. I liked Riddle’s assertive yet gentle grip on me. As he fussed over me, Adelaide flashed me a small, knowing wink. 

It took my friend nearly twenty minutes to teach us how to use the IV tube, which I learned was a sort of tube that fed liquids directly into one’s bloodstream. Riddle spent most of the time complaining about how ‘this is a waste of his time,’ and that he ‘didn’t like Muggle inventions.’ 

Poor Abraxas was still passed out, although he didn’t look quite as pale as he had earlier, and his face was no longer covered in sweat. The hickies were still quite visible, although none of us had any idea who they were from. 

Adelaide has volunteered to take the first shift, which meant the rest of us were sent away to get a bit of sleep. Riddle had decided to tell his followers that this was all their fault, and that he was not to blame in any way. They all accepted this without question of course. 

Riddle insisted that he walk me to my dormitory, but I assured him that I would be fine. I wouldn’t have minded him walking with me, but there was the off-chance that Raymond was still awake, and I knew he wouldn’t be too thrilled to see me with him. 

“ _What is something that you should keep, after giving it away_?” asked the eagle as I attempted to enter my common room. 

“A promise,” I told it, delighted with myself for figuring it out so quickly. There was not a single person in the common room, which made sneaking up to my dormitory very easy. I quickly tore off my clothes and headed to the bathroom straight away. The hot water swirlied around my body, before turning red and falling to the ground in droplets. 

Turns out, there had been more blood staining my skin than I had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I really hope that you're enjoying the story! If you have any thoughts or feedback, please drop a comment to let me know! Everything is ppareciated, including constructive criticism! :)


	16. fifteen

When I awoke the next morning, the sunlight hadn’t even reached my window yet. My palms were clammy and my breath was racing; I had been gifted a night of awful nightmares. I had first watched Adeladie bleed out on the ground, then Sage, then Aspen, and finally Raymond. My feet had been stuck to the floor, and I was unable to help them. I had heard people laughing at me as I struggled to reach for my wand, which was mere inches away. 

I forced myself out of bed and into clean clothes. Seeing as it was a weekend, I didn’t need to wear my uniform. I donned a grey sweater and a plaid skirt before quickly washing my face and slipping on my shoes. I checked the time, and saw that I had an hour before I needed to be at the Room of Requirement again. I desperately wanted to talk to Raymond, but I figured that he would most likely still be sleeping. I decided on heading down to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast. 

Seeing as it was quite early, there were very few students seated at the tables. The only other Ravenclaws looked to all be first-years, and I knew that none of them would be eager to have a conversation with me. 

Lucky for me, Riddle was sitting at the Slytherin table. He was scribbling on a piece of parchment as he sipped from a mug of steaming liquid. A group of girls seemed to be trying to make conversation with him, although he seemed very disinterested. I smiled and made my way over to him. I ignored the looks from the girls across the table as I took a seat next to him. 

“Hello, darling. I was just about to go fetch you, but it looks like I no longer need to do so,” he said with a smile. “Did you sleep well?” 

“I suppose so. Any news regarding Abraxas?” I asked nervously. 

“I was told by Lestrange that he’s doing fine. What about you? Does your arm still hurt?” 

“Not really. The bruise is still there, but it’s not that big of a deal,” I assured him. He reached out to examine my arm, rolling up my sleeve to do so. His hands were cold against my skin, yet it still felt nice. 

“Alright. You should eat something, darling. We have a long day ahead of us.” 

I served myself a few pieces of toast, as well as a buttery croissant and a large cup of coffee. Riddle watched me carefully, quite amused when he realized just how much sugar I put into my coffee. He was most definitely the type to drink his black. 

Neither of us spoke to each other as I quickly ate, which I suppose was partially because of the group of girls seated nearby. 

By the time that we had arrived at the Room of Requirement, more students were awake and wandering around the castle. The fact that most younger students were scared of Riddle made it quite easy for the hallway to clear so we could summon the room. 

I immediately rushed over to the cot that Abraxas was lying on. Someone had dressed his upper-half in a Hufflepuff sweater, which would’ve been a bit funny if it wasn’t for the gravity of his situation. 

“Has he woken up at all?” I asked Rosier, who was sitting nearby. 

“Nope. But he stirred a little bit earlier, and I think he might’ve even smiled for a moment.” I let out a disappointed sigh as I gently stroked Abraxas’ hair off of his face. Riddle had a quick conversation with Rosier and Black before sending them off, leaving the two of us alone with the corpse-like state of Abraxas. 

Seeing as Riddle wasn’t too eager to do it, I changed the IV out and casted a few simple Healing Charms over my friend. Riddle had taken a seat on the couch, lit a cigarette, and pulled out a book. 

"Darling, could you come here a moment?” he called out suddenly. I placed down the water-tube that I had been cleaning out and made my way over to him. He patted the cushion on his right, gesturing for me to sit down. Once I did, he tilted his book so that I could see. 

“This symbol right here, do you recognize it?” Someone had scribbled at the bottom of the page; a little triangle surrounded by a circle being pierced with a line. I considered myself decent at Ancient Runes, so I figured that I should know what this was. I studied it for a few moments, but nothing came up. 

“No. It seems familiar though, but I just can’t pinpoint where I’ve seen it before.” 

“Hmm, that’s what I thought as well. I suppose I’ll have to look into it later,” he decided with a sigh. 

The two of us sat in silence for nearly an hour, him reading while I worked on a star-chart for Astronomy class. In a normal circumstance, I would’ve tried to make conversation. But he seemed perfectly content with the quiet. 

All of a sudden, I heard a stirring from across the room. I immediately swiveled my head around to see that Abraxas’ arm was now dangling off of the cot. I quickly left the sofa and made my way to him. His grey eyes had fluttered open as he let out a weak groan. 

“Ophelia? Is that you? Wha-what happened?” he asked. The upper-half of the cot had been angled a bit, so that his chest wasn’t completely parallel to the ground. 

“Brax, you’re finally awake! Do you remember anything from last night?” 

“Er, not really. Are we in the hospital wing? And what’s this thing in my arm?” he asked, prodding at the IV. 

“It’d be best if you didn’t mess with that. Adelaide set it up; it’s to help you feel better. You got hit with a curse, one that made you bleed like crazy. We’re still in the Room of Requirement,” I explained. 

“Oh. Okay. Did someone give me a blood-replenishing potion?” 

“No, we didn’t. But you did lose a lot of blood, and-” Abraxas cut me off mid-sentence. 

“So I'm dying? I’m dying, Ophelia!” he shouted in a panic. He had finally noticed the sweater, which made him whimper and throw his head back. “Merlin, my last moments are approaching, and I’m wearing a bloody Hufflepuff jumper!” 

I glanced at Riddle, who was watching from his position on the sofa. So far, he hadn’t made any attempt to help. Abraxas was now rambling, listing off who he wanted his possessions to go to. 

“Malfoy, you are not dying. Although if you don’t shut-up, I might just be inclined to kill you,” threatened Riddle. 

Abraxas stopped talking. 

“After we stopped the bleeding, Adelaide drew blood from me and transfused it with what you had left. You’re going to be fine, but you might have to stay up here for a few days. And I’m pretty sure that Black and Rosier put you in the jumper. If you’d like, I could go to your room and get you another one,” I suggested. 

“No!” he shouted, a bit too aggressively, ”I mean, er, it’s alright. You really gave me your blood?” 

“Yes, and she nearly died doing so. Which means you not only owe her, but you also owe me,” snarled Riddle. 

“Don’t listen to him. It was no big deal, I promise you. Although, I wouldn’t tell your family, they’d probably flip. How are you feeling?” I pressed the back of my hand to his forehead, checking if he had a fever. 

“Tired and sore. Could I get some water?” I quickly summoned a goblet for him to drink out of. Riddle had gotten up, but only so that he could select a new book from one of the shelves. 

“Thank you. So, who all knows about this?” 

“Er, Adelaide, Lestrange, Rosier, Black, Maya, and Riddle of course. Don’t worry about the professors, we’ll just say that you’re feeling under the weather,” I assured him. 

“Is that all? You didn’t tell anyone else?” He seemed incredibly worried. 

“Nope. Is there someone else that we should’ve told?” He quickly shook his head. 

“I’m really happy that you’re awake. I’ve been incredibly worried, all of us have. I wanted to take you to the hospital wing, but you know how Riddle is.” 

“Yeah, I know. Could you maybe put me under a Sleeping Charm? I know that’s a weird request, but I still feel awful,” he admitted. I was a bit hesitant to do so, but the last thing I wanted was for him to be in pain. Within minutes, the room was silent again. 

I joined Riddle back on the sofa, although this time we found ourselves sitting much closer together. 

“Your hair looks nice today, darling,” he noted. I had pulled it back in a single braid, which was now being caressed by Riddle. 

“Are you saying that it doesn’t look nice every other day?” I teased. He frowned and wrapped an arm around my torso, pulling me so that I was leaning up against him. 

“No, you always look lovely. I just think that this particular hairstyle suits you.” I smiled up at him, gazing into his dark eyes. 

“I like it when you part your hair down the middle. You look a bit like a movie-star when you do.” 

“Hmm, noted. Is that something you enjoy? Going to the movies?” 

“I suppose so. I really only go when I’m with Adelaide, she loves them. Aspen adores horror films, so I try to take him into London at least a few times a year to see them.” I noticed that Riddle had placed his wand down on the table, which was a bit weird. Even during lessons, he preferred to have it on his person at all times. 

“Are you looking forward to coming-of-age?” he asked. It took me a second to remember that it was now the fifth of December. My birthday was less than three weeks away. 

“I have mixed feelings about that. I’m excited to learn how to Apparate, but I fear the other side of things. You know, the whole Unbreakable Vow ordeal,” I admitted. I let my head fall against his shoulder as he stroked my hand softly. 

“Ophelia, I hope you know that I’d be willing to make the Vow. Obviously, I don’t want to, and neither do you. I don’t want a wife, and I never will. But if we cannot find a work-around, I would marry you, to keep you safe.” I turned my neck slightly so that I could see his face as he spoke to me. 

“I don’t need anyone to look after me. Not my father, not Raymond, and certainly not you.” I had raised my voice a tiny bit, although I hadn’t meant to. 

“There’s no need to get sharp with me. I wasn’t insinuating that you can’t look after yourself. You are quite capable. I simply meant keeping you safe from the wrath of my grandfather, and perhaps even your own parents,” he told me as he rubbed circles into the back of my hand. 

“I don’t understand as to why they’re so insistent that we marry each other. They act as if there aren’t hundreds of other eligible pure-bloods out there,” I said with a sigh. 

“I agree. I have reason to believe that there is something we are not being told. I am hoping that over the break I will be able to get my uncle to reveal something. He’s incredibly stupid, and even more so when he’s drunk.” 

“Or, we could brew up some Veritaserum. Then, he’s guaranteed to tell the truth.” I had been joking, seeing as Veritaserum was incredibly difficult to make, and the use of it was highly restricted. 

“A decent idea, but my uncle is also incredibly paranoid. He never drinks anything unless he watches it being poured. Could you hand me my wand?” I nodded and reached out to pick it up off the table. His was longer than mine, and felt a bit heavier as well. The handle of it had been carved out of bone, or possibly ivory. I leaned away from Riddle and twirled it in my hand. He rolled his eyes before glowering at me. 

“Give it to me, darling.” 

“I don’t know. I kind of like the way it fits in my hand. I wonder if it would work for me,” I teased. 

“You will not do such a thing. Hand it over,” he demanded. I giggled and swung my arms behind my back, removing it from his view. 

“You do _not_ want to play this game with me, Ophelia.” he warned. I let a smirk decorate my face as I shrugged my shoulders. 

I’m not playing any sort of game, _Tom_.” I watched intently as he smoothed back his hair while glaring at me. 

“Very well. I suppose I’ll have to do this the hard way.” He suddenly lunged forward, pushing my body back against the couch. I giggled and tried to push his arms away, but he was stronger than me. He had successfully pinned me down within seconds. 

“Are you going to hand it over now?” His tone was a bit playful, enough to let me know that he wasn’t actually upset with me. 

“Why would I do that? Without your wand, you don’t scare me.” I whispered. Riddle brought his hand up to my throat, snaking his fingers around it. I could almost taste his cologne. 

“Is that so? Well, you should be afraid. I could absolutely wreck you, darling,” His sultry voice sent a shiver down my spine. ”But, I bet you would love that. Wouldn’t you?” he whispered against my ear. 

I suddenly felt his hot breath on my neck, quickly followed by his soft lips. He peppered kisses all along one side, before finding a spot that he liked. My breath hitched as he started to gently suck on my skin. 

His other hand had snuck its way down to my outer thigh; stroking it softly. I whimpered as I felt his grip on me tighten. 

“Tom, I-” 

I had started to speak, but I was interrupted from the sound of the door banging open. 

“Hey guys! It’s nearly nine, so I figured I’d switch out with you! Oh, fuck!” Lestrange had burst into the room, and was now turning around to leave. Riddle had jumped off of me and started to shout. 

“You complete imbecile! Have you ever heard of knocking?” he growled. 

“Well, My Lord; considering the fact that our unconscious friend is lying less than twenty feet away, I figured that nothing would be happening,” Lestrange argued. I suddenly remembered that Abraxas was still in the room, and my stomach dropped. 

“Thank you for coming, Lestrange. I’m exhausted, I could use a nap. I’ll see you both later,” I told the boys as I quickly grabbed my bag and gathered up my papers. 

“Ophelia-” Riddle started. But I was out the door before he had a chance to finish the sentence. 

Merlin, I was a terrible person. Not only had I let that happen, but I had enjoyed it. If he had wanted, I would’ve let him kiss me on the lips. I probably would have even let him fuck me, right there and then. 

I didn’t understand why I felt so compelled towards him lately. Perhaps it was just because of last night. Or perhaps, it was some sort of self-destructive tendency. Whatever the case, I knew that it needed to stop. 

“Ophelia? Can I have a word with you?” I turned around to see Raymond standing a few feet away from me. He looked more eager than anything else, which was a bit confusing. I had expected him to be angry with me, seeing as he had every right to be. 

“Er, of course. But first, I want to apologize for what I said yesterday. I feel awful Ray, I had no right to bash on you,” I admitted. He shook his head and waved off my words. 

“Don’t worry about it, I was just in a weird space. Anyways, my father wrote back to me. He didn’t even acknowledge the marriage thing, so I’m assuming that’s a no. But, him and my mother are going to be in Rome for the first week of the break. Could I stay with you?” 

“Of course you can! My parents won’t like that, but they won’t turn you away if you just show up. The twins will be thrilled, they love you,” I assured him. Seeing as Raymond was pure-blooded, my parents didn’t hate him or anything. They’d most likely make him sleep in the room farthest from mine, but that wasn’t too horrible. 

“Splendid! Is there anything in particular you wanted to do for your birthday? If you didn’t have anything in mind, I was thinking that you and I could spend the day in London,” he suggested. 

“I’m fine with whatever,” I assured him with a smile. I was incredibly relieved that he wasn’t upset with me, although I was a bit confused as to why he wasn’t. 

“Alright! I have to go see Professor Dumbledore; I need a time extension for my homework. I’ll see you later,” he said as he kissed my cheek before walking off. He was in an incredibly cheery mood, and I didn’t want to ruin it for him. 

I forced myself to head back to my common room, knowing that Riddle wouldn’t be there. I played a game of chess with Joslyn, helped a third-year girl with her Astronomy homework, and flipped through various books. 

I told Adelaide that I wasn’t feeling well, and asked her to bring me some food from lunch. I told her what had happened as I ate. 

“I think that you should just sleep with him. That’ll get rid of the tension between the two of you, and you can go back to loathing him,” she suggested. I frowned as I bit into my sandwich. 

“I don’t think that will solve any of my problems.” My friend shrugged and smirked at me. 

“I’ve heard that he has a knife kink. And I _know_ that he likes choking,” she told me with a grin. 

“How would you know that?” I asked her with a raised brow. 

“Slytherin’s are huge gossips. Anyways, if you do decide to fuck him, don’t do it in your dorm. I don’t want the possibility of him going into our bathroom. I don’t want him slipping any sort of hair tint into my shampoo,” she said with a shudder. 

I laughed along with her, although I found my thoughts wandering. I wondered if Riddle really did have knife kink, and I swore to myself that I would make sure to never find out.


	17. sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW// a bit of making-out/ passionate kissing

I was delighted to hear that Abraxas had recovered much more quickly than expected. By evening, Adelaide had decided that he could be moved to his own dorm room, and that he no longer needed the IV. 

Raymond and I went for a walk around the grounds after dinner, brainstorming ideas for what we wanted to do over the break. The Malfoy’s Christmas Eve gala was promising, even though our families would be attending with us. We decided to keep our tradition of sneaking up to the rooftop and having a drink; just the two of us. 

I had been searching for a quill when I noticed that one of Riddle’s books from earlier was still in the bag, one of the ones we had been reading in the library. I tossed it onto my bed, figuring that I could look over it later. Adelaide and I had been invited to a small party in the Gryffindor common room, courtesy of my cousin. After all the stress I had endured over the past few days, I figured that a few drinks and a bit of dancing would help me to feel better. 

“Should we cast a Concealment Charm?” my friend asked as we started down the corridor. 

“No, I don’t think anyone will bother us. Is your boyfriend going to be joining us?” 

“Nope. Gryffindor is still peeved they lost to Slytherin a few weeks back, so I decided it wouldn’t be wise for him to tag along. Besides, tonight is a girls’ night!” Adelaide linked her arm with mine and flipped a curl over her shoulder. 

Once we had reached Gryffindor common room, I remembered just how intense their parties tended to be. It was not even eight, and the celebrations were in full swing. 

“Hey, you two! Glad you could make it,” greeted Corrina as she pulled me into a hug. “I was just about to start up a game of Exploding Snap; care to join?” 

“Er, no thanks. Maybe in a bit,” I told her. Adelaide went along with her, leaving me alone. 

“Ophelia! I haven’t seen you in forever! How have you been?” asked Conner McLaggen, who had just sat down in a chair across from me. 

Even though I hated to admit it, part of me was still a bit attracted to him. Him and I had been romantically involved for a few months last year, and I had lost my virginity to him. His dirty blonde hair and flirty smile made it a bit hard to stay away. 

“Decent enough. How about you?” I asked with a sweet smile. 

“I’ve been great! I don’t know if you’ve heard, but my brother just got put on the Chudley Cannons team! That means free tickets to pretty much every game,” he boasted. I actually had already heard that from Raymond, but I acted as if this was new information. 

“I remember watching him fly when I was in second-year; he’s really talented.” 

“Yeah, well he’s not very good at anything else. He didn’t get a single O.W.L his fifth-year. Anyways, would you like something to drink?” I let Conner get me a pumpkin juice, although I avoided any alcohol. I didn’t want to do anything dumb tonight. 

I ended up having a decent enough time. I talked with Conner and a few of his friends, while keeping an eye on Adelaide. She had decided to stay longer than we had planned, which meant I had to walk back by myself. When I entered my common room, I noticed a younger student sitting by herself and crying. I suppose that it was my older-sister nature that convinced me to go and talk to her. 

“Hi. Do you mind if I sit with you?” She lifted her head out of her hands and shrugged. I pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. 

“I love your barrette, it’s very pretty,” I told her, gesturing to the clip in her silky-black hair. 

“Thank you. It used to be my mothers,” she said meekly. 

“I don’t believe we’ve met before. My name is Ophelia, what’s yours?” 

“It’s Amy. I’m a first-year.” I smiled at her and held out my hand. 

“Nice to meet you, Amy,” I said as she shook my hand. “I couldn’t help but notice that you seem a little upset. Are you having trouble with your homework?” I had noticed a beginner’s Charms book in front of her, so I figured that could’ve been the problem. 

“No. It’s something stupid,” she decided. 

“Well, I doubt that. You seem like a very tough girl, so I bet whatever is wrong must be important. You don’t have to tell me, but if you do I might be able to help.” 

“A boy was being mean to me. An older one,” she said as she sniffled; wiping her eyes with her sleeve. 

“Do you know his name?” 

“Harrison Black. He’s in Slytherin,” she told me. I bit my lip as I rolled my eyes. 

“ _Oh_. I know Harrison, and his older brother. They can be quite rude sometimes. What did he say to you?” Amy let out a shaky breath before telling me. 

“He called me a Mudblood. He said that I didn’t belong at Hogwarts, and that I was an abomination.” I watched as her eyes started to swell with tears again. I reached out to gently touch her hand. 

“Well, I can tell you that none of those things are true. If you’re Muggle-born, then that means you’re incredibly smart and talented. Most wizards go to Hogwarts, but not many Muggles get to. Andy, you’re in Ravenclaw, which means you must be extra smart,” I told her confidently. She made eye contact with me for the first time, looking a bit hopeful. 

“You really think that?” 

“I _know_ that. Harrison Black doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’ll let you in on a little secret; he has a tremendous fear of spiders. Use that to your advantage,” I told her with a wink. Amy laughed and straightened up a bit. 

“You should probably go to bed soon. I know that sounds lame, but we have classes tomorrow. I’ve found that a good night’s sleep always makes me feel better.” I said as I stood up. 

“Alright. Thank you,” she said with a smile. I smiled back before walking away, feeling proud of myself. 

As I opened the door to my dormitory, the book on my bed immediately caught my attention. I kicked off my shoes and climbed under the covers. I found myself quickly engrossed in the pages; scanning over every word with the light of my wand. Time seemed to melt away as I spent the next hours reading. I heard Adelaide enter her room, and then take a shower. My eyes started to grow tired, but I forced myself to keep going. 

It was near one in the morning when I finally stumbled across the words I had been aching to read. 

_A common type of Binding Magic, commonly referred to as the Unbreakable Vow. A sort of oath between two individuals, tied together by a third. They should not be taken lightly, as failure to comply with the terms will result in death._

_But as mentioned prior, there are ways around death. In this case, the Vow cannot be fooled by either of the promise-makers. But the third party involved could very well be your ticket out. If one was under the Confundus Charm while tying the Vow, then there is the possibility that the magic would not be successfully completed, although it would appear to be from an outsider’s perspective. Be warned- this could have dire consequences._

__I read over the paragraphs multiple times, wanting to be sure that I understood exactly what it meant._ _

__We could simply Confound whoever was performing the Vow, and it wouldn’t be successful. My heart was racing with excitement, although I was surprised that I hadn’t thought of this before. I knew that I needed to show Riddle, and I didn’t want to wait until morning._ _

__I jumped out of bed, grabbing my wand and the book while slipping on my shoes. I remembered that I didn’t know the Slytherin password, so I went through our bathroom to get to Adelaide’s room._ _

__“Adelaide! Adelaide, wake up!” I whispered as I shook her lightly. She rolled over and slowly opened her eyes._ _

__“Ophelia? Is it morning already?” I could tell by her slurred speech that she was still a bit intoxicated._ _

__“What’s the password to get into the Slytherin common room?” I urged. I knew that she knew it, seeing as she spent a lot of her time there._ _

__“Hmm? Oh, it’s ‘Elapidae.’ Why do you want to know?” I shrugged and pulled her comforter back over her._ _

__"Don’t worry about it, go back to sleep,” I told her as I rushed out of her room and down the stairs._ _

__The paintings were not happy to have a teenager with her lit wand running through the hallways. I narrowly avoided being seen by one of the Hufflepuff Prefects, and I almost tripped over a statue of armor. Once I finally reached the dungeons, I murmured the password to the wall and watched as it swung open so that I could enter. The common room was completely empty, except for a few cats roaming about._ _

__I had been to Riddle’s room once before, although I had been incredibly intoxicated. It took me a few minutes to find it again. As I knocked on his door, I silently prayed that he wasn’t asleep._ _

__When he swung open the door, he looked incredibly angry. Once he realized that it was me, his expression switched to worry._ _

__"Ophelia? What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you hurt?” It looked as if he hadn’t been sleeping, seeing as all his lamps were lit and he was still wearing the clothes he had been in earlier._ _

__“I’m fine. I need to show you something about Unbreakable Vows. Can I come in?” His eyes widened in excitement as he stepped aside to let me in. Not bothering to sit down, I thrusted the book into his hands and flipped it open to the page I had marked. I watched in anticipation as he read over the page._ _

__“This-” he looked up from the book to address me- “might just work. It’ll most likely be my uncle who performs the vow; my grandfather doesn’t want himself attached to me in any way.”_ _

__“Well, your uncle will be even easier to Confound! One of us can do it right before, and it should last throughout the whole thing.” Riddle’s eyes flashed with excitement as he listened to me ramble on._ _

__I had discovered the solution for all of our troubles_ _

__And before I could speak another word, his lips were pressed to mine. I felt my body freeze up, not out of fear but out of shock. The kiss was a chaste one; he pulled away after mere seconds. He gave me an inquisitive look, asking for permission to continue._ _

__Without thought, I leaned forward, pushing our mouths back together. It started out gentle; his forehead pressed against mine as he tucked hair behind my ear. But things quickly escalated as the tension between us grew._ _

__The book had been hastily dropped onto his desk as he rested his hands on my waist, backing me up against the wall. I felt his tongue run over my bottom lip before thrusting its way into my mouth. His fingertips dug into my hips as I grabbed a fistfull of his curls._ _

__I knew that I shouldn’t be doing this, but that only made me want to continue. I would rather die than stop kissing him. I had no clue if our movements were fueled by passion or lust, or maybe a combination of the two. I whined as he pulled his mouth away, but I was delighted when I felt his wet kisses against my jawline. I bit my lip, trying to bite back a moan._ _

__My eyes fluttered open for a moment, and their attention was caught by a pair of beady eyes from across the room. There was a large snake resting atop the windowsill, one that I hadn’t noticed until now. Unable to stop myself, I screamed._ _

__Riddle immediately stopped kissing me and whipped out his wand. He spun around quickly, wanting to know what the threat was. I watched as he opened his mouth and started hissing. To my great surprise, the snake hissed back at him._ _

__Not knowing what was happening, I stood there in silence. The snake suddenly slithered down from the window and onto the floor. It made its way across the room, now inches away from my feet. It hissed at Riddle once more before worming past the door and out of his dorm. I quickly slammed the door behind it._ _

__“What the _fuck _just happened?” I kept my distance from Riddle, seeing as everything that had just gone down was a bit unnerving.___ _

___“He needed to speak to me. He must’ve slipped in after you did,” he said._ _ _

___“You can- you can talk to snakes?” He nodded._ _ _

___“Yes. Did you not know that?” I shook my head as I reached down to retrieve my wand, just in case the serpent returned._ _ _

___“I’m a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. My whole family are Parselmouths.”_ _ _

___I obviously knew that Slytherin was famous for being able to speak Parseltongue. And I also knew that Riddle was in some way related to him. But I hadn’t thought that this was a hereditary thing._ _ _

___“Why did the snake want to talk to you?” I asked timidly. He shrugged and took a step closer to me._ _ _

___“I’m not sure. They come to me all the time; sometimes it’s just petty gossip. Other times, the information they carry is valuable.” I continued to stare at him in awe. There was no way that he was being serious._ _ _

___“So this is like a normal thing? Random snakes come into your room while you’re making out with girls?” He scoffed and ran his hand down my arm in an attempt to comfort me._ _ _

___“ _Well_ , normally I lock the door if I have company. You sort of showed up unexpectedly. And I hadn’t planned on us kissing,” he admitted. Now, it was my turn to scoff. _ _ _

__“You were the one who kissed me! I was simply showing you what I had found in the book, and you decided to get all horny!” He scowled at me as his brow furrowed._ _

__“Don’t pretend that you weren’t enjoying yourself, Ophelia. In fact, you probably would’ve begged me to fuck you if it wasn’t for your irrational fear of snakes,” he snapped._ _

__“I’m not afraid of snakes.” Riddle let out a dark chuckle as he ran the fingers of his left hand across my cheekbone._ _

__“Yes, you are.”_ _

__“ _No_ , I’m not.” Truthfully, I was. I always had been, ever since I was a little kid. But there was no way that I was going to admit that. Riddle leaned in close to me and let out a series of incomparable hisses. His eyes seemed to glow a bit as he did so. I flinched, involuntarily. _ _

__“What a pathetic little girl you are. You whimper at my touch, yet you pretend to despise me. Should I summon some more snakes? Have them curl around your throat and strangle you to death?”_ _

__"You wouldn’t do that,” I told him as he breathed against my neck. He met my gaze and smirked._ _

__“No, I wouldn’t. I’m just teasing you, darling. You are currently on my good side, and even more so now that you’ve found the way to trick the Unbreakable Vow.” He had reached out to take my hand in his, causing me to glance down and stare at his fingers. I almost pulled away, but I stopped myself._ _

__“Sorry, it’s hard to remember that I don’t hate you anymore,” I sighed._ _

__“You used to hate me?”_ _

__“Yes. You’re incredibly rude, demanding, and kind of sadistic. I wish that I still hated you,” I admitted as I ran a hand through his hair, brushing out the tangles with my fingers._ _

__“Why the change of mind?” he wondered aloud._ _

__“I don’t know. You have your good moments. You protected me in the forest, you sat with me after I let Adelaide take my blood, and you occasionally say sweet things.”_ _

__“And I let you mess with my hair. I don’t tend to allow girls to do that,” he added. I smiled and gave his waves a small tug._ _

__“I shouldn’t have kissed you back,” I sighed._ _

__“Why do you say that, darling?” Riddle’s thumb danced along the top of my hand in a soothing way._ _

__“Because now things are going to be weird between us. Even more so than before.”_ _

__“It’ll only be awkward if we make it so. How about we come to an agreement? No more kissing,” he suggested._ _

__Part of me wanted to say no. I liked the feeling of his lips against mine. Throughout my years, I had kissed many boys. But none of those kisses felt even near as intoxicating as the one I had just experienced._ _

__“Agreed. Unless, perhaps for the sake of appearances. Now since we won’t be fulfilling the Vow, we need to convince our families that we would be delighted to wed, so that they won’t suspect anything.”_ _

__“You’re very clever, Ophelia. Same that you’re not in Slytherin,” he murmured. I dropped his gaze for a second so that I could look at his clock. It was nearly two A.M._ _

__“I should probably go back to my room now.” Riddle nodded slightly as he squeezed my hand._ _

__“I’ll escort you there. I don’t want you getting in trouble,” he decided. I suppose that was one of the advantages of being a Prefect. You could wander the corridors at night without being questioned. I watched as he stepped away from me to retrieve something from the top of his dresser._ _

__“I forgot to give this to you earlier,” he said as he revealed to me my charm bracelet. He gently reached for my hand, fastening it around my wrist. I smiled, grateful that he had gone back to the library to retrieve it._ _

__I followed him out of his dorm and down the stairs. The cats I had seen earlier were still milling about. One with dark black fur approached us and started rubbing itself against Riddle’s leg. He looked down at it; clearly amused._ _

__“Her name is Pearl, a stray that some third-year girl found. I voted that we simply kill it, but that idea was rather unpopular amongst everyone else. I don’t know why, but she seems to have taken a liking towards me,” he explained as the cat purred against him. “The rest all belong to other Slytherins. They tend to wander about during the night time.”_ _

__“Can I pet her?”_ _

__“I don’t know. I never have. She might not like it,” he warned. I scoffed at him, and bent down to stroke her soft fur. She purred happily as Riddle watched._ _

__“Most cats like affection. All pets, really. Although I suppose snakes might not,” I teased. I scooped Pearl up in my arms and stood back up. Riddle took a step backwards. I rolled my eyes at him as I continued to stroke her._ _

__“Give it a try. She won’t bite you,” I assured him._ _

__“I see no reason to pet the cat, Ophelia.”_ _

__“Pet the damn cat, _Tom_.” _ _

__He let out a long sigh before finally giving in. I held Pearl out as he warrily stretched out his hand to run his fingers across her head. She cooed as he did so, which made him smile._ _

__I had seen him smile before, but this one seemed different. Wholesome and genuine._ _

__“Are you glad that you didn’t kill her?”_ _

__“Yes, I suppose so. Now put her down, we need to get going.”_ _

__The walk to Ravenclaw Tower went by incredibly quickly. I made the move to hold his hand, and he happily let me._ _

__Once we reached my common room, I assured him that I could manage to get to my room._ _

__"Darling, I have something to ask you. Slughorn is throwing a dinner party this Friday. I have secured an invitation, as always. Would you like to go with me?”_ _

__I felt my cheeks flush at his proposal. I had never been to a Slug-Club event before._ _

__“Of course I will! I’ll see you in class tomorrow,” I assured him. He smiled and planted a small kiss on my forehead. I figured that was fine, seeing as it was more of a friendly gesture than a romantic one._ _

__“Goodnight, Ophelia.”_ _

__“Goodnight, Tom.”_ _

__I felt absolutely giddy as I later collapsed onto my bed. I hoped that it was over my earlier discovery in the book, and not because I kept replaying the scene of us kissing against the wall in my head._ _


	18. seventeen

Naturally, I had to tell my friends about what had happened with Riddle. I told them my story as we were walking to Transfiguration, and their reactions were not at all what I had been expecting. 

“Ade, I called it! You owe me five galleons!” shouted Raymond as a grin stretched across his face. 

“No, I don’t owe you anything! You wagered that they would kiss before December, and we’re well into the month. If anything, you owe me,” decided Adelaide as she playfully elbowed him in the chest. 

“Nope. You bet that it wouldn't be until after the New Year, and that it would happen while they were both drunk. Lestrange was the one who said it would happen around Christmas. Technically, we both owe him.” 

“Seriously. You all were betting on this?” I groaned. My friends shrugged and exchanged a look. 

“Ophelia, if you could be a dear and not tell Lestrange about this. I really don’t want to have to pay him,” Raymond pleaded. 

“I hate you all,” I mumbled as we entered the Transfiguration classroom. Professor Dumbledore had an incredibly challenging lesson planned for today; transforming ferrets into birds. 

“Hey, where’s Malfoy?” asked Raymond as we took our seats. 

“He’s feeling a bit under the weather,” Rosier said quickly. 

“Oh. Could you tell him that I hope he feels better?” All of us were quiet for a moment. Last time I had checked, Raymond didn’t think very highly of Abraxas. Multiple times over the years he had referred to him as a ‘dumb blonde.’ I supposed that it was a good thing he was trying to be more civil with some of my other friends. 

“Yeah, I will,” Lestrange assured him. “Ophelia, could I look at your essay? I still haven’t finished mine.” 

**\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

As the week went on, I realized how desperately I needed a break from school. The workload from classes had continued to increase since the beginning of the term, and I found myself spending most of my free time doing homework. 

Potions with Riddle was definitely my easiest class. Not only was I good at it, but Slughorn absolutely adored Riddle. If we ever made any kind of mistake, Slughorn wrote it off as an ‘intentional creative error.’ 

When Friday evening eventually rolled around, I felt nervous for some strange reason. Adelaide was also attending the party with her boyfriend, so I was sitting on her bed as I watched her apply makeup. 

“Is the red lipstick too much?” she asked as she dapped at her upper lip. 

“No, not at all. It compliments your dress nicely,” I assured her. I had chosen to wear a silky-blue slip dress, one that fell just below my knee. My mother would most likely consider it too revealing, which made me like it even more. 

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. We should head downstairs now; the boys should be arriving any minute,” she decided. 

The common room was still filled with students, seeing as it was only seven. I saw that Cindy was also dressed up, so I figured that she would be attending as well. I flashed her a smile before we left to wait out in the corridor. 

“Merlin, Adelaide. We’re going to a dinner party, not a gentlemen’s club,” commented Riddle as he approached from the stairs. Admittedly, her dress was a bit short. But I thought that she looked great. Adelaide simply rolled her eyes and hitched up her dress so that even more of her leg was showing. 

“Sorry that you don’t understand fashion,” she tutted as she took her boyfriend's hand, whispering something in his ear. They both laughed, which made Riddle frown. 

“You look lovely, darling,” he whispered to me as we walked; our arms interlocked. He looked quite lovely himself, dressed in dark green dress robes. He had parted his hair down the center, just the way I liked it. 

We were greeted at the entrance to Slughorn’s office by a cheery house-elf who invited us in. Some sort of magic must've been in use, as the office was ten times its normal size. There were at least fifty people inside, a mix of faculty, students, and Hogwarts alumni. 

“Ophelia? Is that you?” I heard a voice from behind me call. I turned my head to see my cousin Caspius smiling at me. 

As far as cousins went, Caspius Sterling was alright. I was related to him through my mother’s side of the family. He had graduated from Hogwarts about five years ago, and he now worked for the Ministry, as a high ranking member of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. As a former Slytherin Head Boy, it wasn’t that much of a surprise that he was here. 

“Caspius! So great so see you,” I said as I gave him a quick hug. “This is my, er, this is Tom,” I told him as I introduced Riddle. They shook hands, both of them studying the other. 

“Riddle, isn’t it? You’re the fiancé, correct?” I felt Riddle lock his arm with mine again, pulling me to him protectively. 

“Yes, that would be me.” 

“Glad to finally meet you. Slughorn boasts about you constantly, he’s sure that you’ll be the Minister for Magic one day,” Caspius told him. 

Although he tried to hide it, Riddle was absolutely thrilled to hear that’s what Slughorn thought of him. His devilish grin was even more broad than usual as he made small talk with my cousin for a few more minutes. 

“I’ll bet they don’t let the Minister demand that people address him as a Lord,” I whispered to him after finally pulling him away. 

“Then I suppose it’s good that I strive to be much more important than that,” he scoffed. 

As far as parties went, this one was quite dull. I quickly learned that Riddle had no intention of dancing or drinking. He was using this night as an opportunity to strengthen his connections, which meant an evening of smooth-talking Ministry officials and other important members of society. 

It soon became incredibly obvious as to why he had brought me along. I knew that my parents talked badly of me; and they had for many years. 

_“Ophelia isn’t in her right mind, running about with Muggle filth and the sort.”_

_“An immature girl who doesn’t know how to hold her tongue.”_

_“It’ll be a miracle if she ever grows up and finally embraces her duty as a member of this family.”_

By having me on his arm, Riddle made it seem as if he had tamed me in some way. The charming and intelligent Tom Riddle had even managed to get Ophelia Sterling by his side. By resting his arm around my waist, whispering sweet things into my ear, and occasionally brushing back small pieces of my hair, he made it appear as if we were a real couple. 

When I watched him engage in conversation, it was a bit baffling how easily he appealed to whomever he was speaking with. It was infuriatingly obvious how insincere his flattery was, yet no one called him out on it. 

I was more angry at myself than I was at Riddle. I was foolish to think that he could ever do something nice or normal, without having an agenda behind it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had been planning this for weeks, and the only reason he had started to treat me like an equal was for this stupid Slughorn party. 

What truly pained me, is how good we looked together. How I wished that this was real; how badly I wanted his actions to be genuine. 

“He’s an idiot, can’t believe that the Minister himself hired him,” Riddle mumbled as we walked away from a man that he had just spent the last quarter of an hour talking to. 

“I think I need to sit down,” I blurted out suddenly. 

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell, darling?” 

“Er, I just have a bit of a headache,” I lied. 

“Alright, then I’ll sit with you. Would you like some water?” The last thing I wanted was for everyone to see him doting on me as if I was some useless housewife. I shook my head, perhaps a bit too aggressively. 

“I’ll be fine by myself,” I assured him. “Go enjoy the party.” 

He met my gaze for a moment; staring at me intensely, as if he was trying to read my mind. 

“Well, if you insist. I’ll come check on you in a bit,” he decided as he leaned down to press a kiss to my cheek. 

I know that we had promised to stop kissing each other, but he clearly didn’t care. Sure, it was merely a cheek-kiss, but I knew that he had done it out of malicious intent. As soon as he had walked off, I glanced around, hoping that no one had seen our interaction. Unfortunately, it looked as if nearly everyone had. 

I sulkily made my way to an empty able, one near the orchestra. A server passed by, carrying a tray of champagne glasses. Wanting to relieve myself of the sickening feeling in my gut, I decided to take two. 

Riddle allowed my ample time by myself, leaving me to wallow in my thoughts for nearly half of an hour. By the time that he came back, I had just finished a third glass of the bubbly alcohol. 

“I thought you had a headache,” he scoffed as he took the chair next to mine. 

“I did. I suppose that I’ve successfully cured it,” I said with a giggle. Riddle sighed, and took the current glass from my grasp. 

“No more of that, I’d prefer you sober. Are you ready to continue socializing with me?” I shrugged as I smoothed down my dress, wanting to feel the soft fabric against my legs. 

“It’s not as if I talk to any of them. I just stand by your side, smiling like a simpleton.” 

“I never said that you weren't allowed to talk to anyone. You simply chose not to speak up,” he frowned. 

“Can we dance? I really feel like dancing,” I asked, changing the subject. 

“No. This isn’t some teenage drug-fest, Ophelia. It’s important that we stabilize our connections with the right people.” 

“ _We_? You mean _you_. I don’t have any desire to take over the world with a cult of strangely-devoted teenagers. Get over yourself,” I snarled at him. Without warning, his hand reached up to grab my chin. To anyone watching, it seemed like he was comforting me, yet the threatening gleam of his eyes told me otherwise. 

“You forget yourself, my dear Ophelia. Quit acting a brat and come join me,” he articulated as he stood up from the table. I crossed my arms across my chest and turned away from him. 

“It seems as if my headache has returned. Maybe it’s your voice that causes it,” I said sternly. He glowered at me, but decided against another argument. 

“Fine. Be that way if you wish,” he growled before storming away. I rolled my eyes; he really was quite dramatic. 

I watched the dancefloor in envy, seeing Adelaide and Lestrange having the time of their lives. Merlin, all I wanted was a normal boyfriend. Even after we thwart the Unbreakable Vow, it would be a while before I could have a regular dating life again. 

I found myself feeling light-headed, although for real this time. I hadn’t been drunk in ages, not since that first Slytherin party. I wish that Raymond were here; he was such a good drunk-sitter. Seeing as my other friends were having a good time, I didn’t want to burden any of them with my troubles. I sat alone, until finally someone made an effort to speak with me. 

“Ophelia? Are you feeling alright? You look a bit pale,” noted Conner McLaggen. He took the seat across from me, expressing concern. 

“It’s just the lighting in here,” I assured him. Truthfully, everything about the party was a bit tacky. It was nothing like the elegant balls I normally attended, although it did feel a lot cozier. 

“Are you sure you don’t want any water or maybe something to eat?” I smiled and shook my head. Conner was most definitely a decent guy. He was genuinely nice to pretty much everyone, even me, his ex. 

“No, I promise you that I feel fine. You look great tonight,” I smiled as I leaned in a bit closer to him. 

“You too, blue is most definitely your color. Did you come here with Riddle?” 

“Yes, but he hasn’t spared me a glance all evening,” I admitted with a sigh. The orchestra had just started up a new song, this one more slow and melancholy that the previous repertoire. I suddenly had an idea, although it wasn’t a very good one. 

“Conner, would you like to dance with me?” I asked him as I stood up abruptly. I knew that Conner was too polite to turn me down, so of course he didn’t. 

“Yeah, of course!” He got up as well, and took my arm. I felt myself beaming as he led me over to the dance floor, resting a hand on my waist as he started to spin me around. Even though I was most definitely intoxicated, Conner was a good dance partner and he prevented me from tripping over my own feet. 

For a mere moment, I tilted my head to the side. And of course, it was in that split-second that Riddle’s gaze met mine. 

Almost immediately, he set down his whiskey glass and stormed over to us. Conner had just been approached by Slughorn, which meant he didn’t have to face Riddle’s wrath as I did. Without even bothering to speak to me, he grabbed at my wrist and started to pull me away from the crowd. 

“You’re hurting me,” I hissed at him, but he didn’t seem to care. He dragged me out of the party and back into the dark corridor. I quickly found myself being slammed against the wall as his hand wrapped around my throat. 

“ _You_ , are one of the most stupid girls I have ever met,” he fumed. His eyes seemed to have turned a shade of crimson, although that might have been an illusion from the alcohol. “Were you trying to make me jealous? Thought that since I wasn’t giving you the attention that you so desperately desire, you would get it from a _Gryffindor_ of all people?” His fingers flexed against my neck, allowing his cold rings to indent against my skin. 

“Why should it matter? We both know that I’m just an item to you, just a pretty face for you to show off,” I spat. He chuckled darkly and thrusted my head upwards so that I would be forced to look at him 

“Is that really how you feel, Ophelia? It is not my fault that you view yourself as an object,” he snapped. “If all that I desired was a pretty girl by my side, I would most certainly choose someone other than you.” 

I could still hear the music coming from the party, although it seemed to be fading in and out of my head. Even though I shouldn’t think so, Riddle looked devastatingly handsome. I wished that for once his hands could do something other than torment me. 

“I don’t understand you. I try, over and over again, but you make no sense. A week ago you were telling me that I was beautiful and that you would never let anyone hurt me, but now look where we are,” I whispered between ragged breaths. “I’m a Ravenclaw, I’m supposed to be good at this, figuring people out. Everyone keeps telling me that you’re the bad guy, but for some reason I don’t want to believe them.” 

“Is that so?” His mouth twisted as he scrutinized me with his intense stare. 

“You’re an absolute nightmare, Tom. Yet I’m absolutely fascinated by you, and I can’t stay away. I hate that you’re mad at me, and I hate that you look so alluring right now,” I admitted. 

I was unable to stop the tears that had started to trickle down my face. Riddle had loosened his grip on my neck, and he was now cradling my face gently. I felt his hot breath against my skin as he started to speak. 

“You think that _I’m_ confusing? darling, it’s absolutely maddening trying to understand you.” He gently twisted a loose ringlet of my hair around his finger before tucking it back behind my ear. “I do not know why I chased after you that night in the forest. Or why I felt hesitant to let Adelaide take your blood. Nobody matters to me. You shouldn’t matter to me.” 

That was probably the most sincere thing that I had ever heard him say to me. It wasn’t out of a moment of fear or used to back-up a threat, it was simply raw emotion. 

“You look so pretty when you cry,” he cooed as he ran his thumb across my cheek, wiping the tears from my skin. Although his hand was warm, his touch still felt cold. 

“I’m sorry. For dancing with him,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. 

“I know that you are. Even through your occasional acts of defiance, you seem to remain quite loyal to me,” he decided. His free hand made its way to my waist, his thumb rubbing circles against the silky material. “Tomorrow is the first day of the break. You mentioned that Prewett will be staying with you?” 

“Yeah. His parents are going to be in Rome until Christmas Eve.” 

“Alright. I need to meet with you at least once before the New Year. Will you be attending Malfoy’s gala?” I nodded; I would die before I missed a Malfoy event. 

“Then I suppose I shall see you there. I’m going to go back inside. Be a good girl and go up to bed; you need to sleep this off. I’ll tell everyone you felt unwell,” he grumbled. I responded with a weak nod, no longer in the mood to argue with him. As he brought his face closer to mine, my eyes involuntarily fluttered shut. His soft lips traced against the top of my forehead, leaving a soft kiss before he walked off, straightening his tie as he left. 

Forehead kisses were meant to be comforting, yet Riddle’s seemed to mock me. I was his, and he would show me just enough affection to make me believe so. 

As I stumbled through the corridor, I could feel the tears start up again. Riddle had somehow found a way to make me feel worse about his comfort than his yelling. I couldn’t tell if he was successfully manipulating me, or if I was simply over-thinking things. My emotions seemed untamable, amplified by the excessive amounts of champagne in my system. I found myself crumbling against a wall, breaking down in sobs as I tugged at the roots of my hair. I kicked off my shoes, freeing my feet from their containment. I looked like an absolute mess, and I felt like one as well. 

Riddle was right. I am nothing more than a stupid girl. I’m a stupid girl who hasn’t learned that staying away from the flame is the only way to prevent burns.

**Author's Note:**

> (Originally posted on Wattpad)


End file.
